Mycenaean tholos: corbelled dome and relieving triangle
Tholos micénico: falsa cúpula de hiladas y triángulo de descarga
- Date
- c. 1250 BCE · confidence medium
- Place
- Mycenae, Argolis, Greece
- Credited to
- Mycenaean builders
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A circular burial chamber roofed by a corbelled dome of ashlar courses that project inward until they close. The Treasury of Atreus spans almost 14.5 m with a monolithic lintel of over 100 tonnes relieved by a triangular opening.
The corbelled dome is much older elsewhere (Cretan Mesara tholoi from c. 2700 BC; mounds in Ireland and Malta); this entry records the monumental Mycenaean development, not its first appearance.
What it led to
- large stone roofs without a true arch
- relieving triangle that diverts load from lintels
- a reference for corbelled courses in the eastern Mediterranean