2). Schliemann's first idea was that he had discovered the
Agora of Mycenae, the 'well-polished circle of stones' on which
the elders of the city sat for councilor judgment, as Hephaestos
depicted them on the shield of Achilles; but even this discovery
did not satisfy him; he was resolved to go down to virgin soil
or rock, and his perseverance was rewarded.
First there came into view a circular altar, and several steles
of soft stone with rude carvings in relief, which seemed to point
to interments beneath, and a system of offerings to, or on behalf
of, the dead. Three feet below the altar, and 23 feet below the
surface level, there came to light the top of the first of a group
of five rock-hewn graves. The graves were rectangular, varied in
depth from 10 to 16 feet, and ranged in size from 9 by 10 feet
to 16 by 22 feet. They had been carefully lined with a wall of
small quarry-stones and clay, and roofed over with slate slabs; but
the roofing had broken down, owing to the decay of the beams which
supported it, and the graves were filled with earth and pebbles.
Mingled with the debris brought down by the collapse of the roofs
lay human bodies, one in the smallest grave, five in the largest,
and three in each of the others; and along with them had been buried
one of the most remarkable hoards of treasure that ever greeted
the eye of a discoverer.
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