Ins and Outs of the Archives Rooms at Pylos: Form and Function in a Mycenaean Palace

Abstract

In this article we examine archaeological and epigraphical evidence pertaining to the architectural reconstruction of the Archives Rooms in the Palace of Nestor at Pylos, with the aim of understanding how the rooms fit into the total architectural layout of the palace and how the records within them relate to scribal and work activity in and around the palace. We reconstruct two external doors into the Archives Complex, a primary door in the inner room and a secondary door in the outer one. This suggested reconstruction best accommodates the discernible patterns of scribal activity conditioned by architectural modifications to the overall palace plan in late LH IIIB. Our reconstruction also suits the function of the Archives Rooms as the central focus of record-keeping activity in the palace.