In 1899 during his excavations Tsountas found three rock-cut chamber tombs (Tomb 102, the Fig Tree Tomb, and another, fig. 1) on the west side of the carriage road just to the south of the Treasury of Atreus. In 1904 Bosanquet published the goldwork and other small objects from Tomb 102, together with one of the vases. It is to be hoped that Tsountas will soon be able to publish the rest of the pottery of that tomb and the contents of the others. In 1921 we made trial trenches on the slopes on both sides of the road, and found three similar rock-cut chamber tombs, the positions of which are shown on the accompanying sketch plan, fig. 1. As these tombs lie on either side of the third kilometre stone of the road, we have for the sake of convenience called this the Third Kilometre Cemetery to distinguish it from the other groups of tombs that surround Mycenae. Tombs 502 and 504 were both excavated in 1921; Tomb 505 was begun in 1921 but, owing to difficulties caused by the dangerous state of the doorway, the chamber was not completely cleared till 1922.

By following the path that leads northwards from the modern village of Mycenae (Charvati) across the ridges, one reaches in about ten minutes the Upper Well (Epano Pegadi), which seems to date from prehistoric times. Hence a small ravine runs down westwards dividing the northern ridge, Phourno Diaselo, on which lie the Cyclopean Tomb and the Tomb of Genii, from the southern ridge called Kalkani. On the northern bank of this ravine Steffen in his map marks a small cave which he calls ‘Busioti Spilia’. This was explored by Tsountas, who found it to be a small plundered chamber tomb and also discovered two other tombs near by. We examined this slope between the north bank of the ravine and the path, and found six more tombs on this side, Tombs 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, and 531 (fig. 9). Our attention, however, had been specially directed to the southern side of the ravine, which is formed by the rather steep northern slope of the Kalkani hill. This had never before been explored for tombs, and we were fortunate enough to find fourteen Late Helladic chamber tombs, Tombs 513–19, 525–30, 532, and 533 (see frontispiece and the plan fig. 9). We had begun our search for tombs in the hope of finding some of L.H. I or L.H. II date, and, as will be seen in the account of them given below, we were not disappointed. We have every reason to believe that there are more tombs still to be excavated here on the Kalkani hill. For the successful excavation in 1921 and 1922 of those we found we owe much to the skill of our foreman, Georgios Alexopoulos, whose experience and local knowledge were extremely valuable.

Tsountas, as a result of his own excavations in the prehistoric cemeteries of Mycenae, came to the conclusion that the geographical distribution of the tombs in well-defined groups was not accidental, but designed. He found that the tombs were arranged in groups of eight, ten, or more lying close together in definite localities clearly separated from one another. This division of the cemeteries which lie near the Acropolis of Mycenae to the north, north-west, west, and south-west at the foot of the mountain of Hagios Elias, and in the sides of the various ridges that run south-westwards from it, he interpreted as meaning that the inhabitants of Mycenae lived in small villages or townships on these hills, and buried their dead in cemeteries hewn out of the sides of the ridges whereon they dwelt. The Acropolis was little more than a fortified palace protecting with its cyclopean walls the royal house, the great officers of state, chamberlains, captains of the guard, and the necessary servants or slaves, together of course with enough trusty guards to defend the walls in case of danger. The inhabitants of the separate villages were the ordinary civilian population, and Tsountas suggests that they lived in clans or groups of families, and that they continued in the tomb the clanship they had maintained in life. With the knowledge at present available these conclusions of Tsountas are eminently reasonable, and nothing found in the course of our excavations in the prehistoric tombs of Mycenae leads us to disagree with him on these points, for, as has been seen above and as will be explained below, the tombs we excavated have every appearance of being family sepulchres used by the same families over a considerable period of years.