The Early Helladic II Corridor House: Development and Form

TLDR

A distinctive Early Helladic II building type, exemplified by the House of the Tiles at Lerna, emerged in Greece during the past 30 years of excavation, persisted through EH II, and then vanished, featuring two‑storey layouts with corridors, lightwells, and restricted balconies, possibly evolving from a contemporary one‑storey form. The building is two‑storey, with a sloping, tiled roof, and features stairways that create corridors formed by walls set parallel to its longer sides.

Abstract

During the past 30 years of excavation, a new, major type of prehistoric building has appeared at various sites in Greece (Table 1), one which is as characteristic of its own culture as the Mycenaean and Minoan palaces are of theirs. The best known and most developed example is the House of the Tiles at Lerna. The type, without any obvious Early Helladic I precursors, runs its course in EH II and then disappears after the unrest attested archaeologically in the late part of this period. The building is two-storied, with a sloping, tiled roof, and features stairways within which, at first glance, appear to be corridors, created by walls set parallel to its longer sides. It seems that the upper floors of the larger examples had at least two rooms, possibly an unusual lightwell, and balconies to which access was probably restricted. The possibility is entertained that the type may have evolved from another, contemporary, one-storied type of building.