Mycenaean Geotechnical Engineering

This paper provides an overview of the Mycenaean civil engineering projects
with emphasis in geotechnical engineering. Archaeological findings and
literature resources are used in this study. While there are difficulties in this
approach, it becomes evident that the Mycenaean engineers were competent
builders with extensive experience in geotechnical construction that included
fortifications, roads, bridges, embankments as well as underground construction
and tunnels. The method of construction for most of these projects is largely
unknown but detailed study of the remains could yield useful information on the
construction practices of this civilization.

Retaining Walls
Retaining walls were extensively constructed as part of road construction
projects, in other facilities, and as already discussed, in vaulted graves. All
retaining structures are gravity-type, i.e. the stability of the supported
embankment is ensured by the large weight of the blocks that form the wall.
Many examples of this type of construction exist. Figure 3 shows a large
embankment supported by a vertical gravity wall consisting of large, roughly
hewn blocks. Retaining walls were commonly constructed in road projects as
discussed in the following section.

Roads & Pavements
The Mycenaeans had a complicated transportation system that consisted of a
primary network of roads and many secondary roads. In the vicinity of Mycenae,
an extensive network of roads intended to serve the local needs is still
preserved and has been studied by several researchers (Steffen, 1884, Jansen
2002, Iakovidis and French, 2003).

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