Publisher's Synopsis
This study examines the physical evidence of Mycenaean roads in different regions of Greece, the system of highways in the vicinity of the citadel of Mycenaea and the small blockhouses near the highways, in addition to evidence for the types of vehicles in use in Mycenaean times. The assumption has been that Mycenaean states used these highways to aid in their defence and facilitate long-range communications. There is, in fact, this book argues, no evidence to suggest that the highways were associated with military forts. It is likely, instead, that in the Late Bronze Age, buildings near the roads were farms or dwellings, and that much of the traffic consisted of farm animals and vehicles. The physical evidence shows that Bronze Age highways were more important in helping to bind regions together than in promoting long-distance overland communications.
