Jewel__A_Celebration_of_Earth_s_Treasures

MASK OF AGAMEMNON 289

A

gold death mask, the Mask

of Agamemnon is one of

the world’s most famous –

and controversial –

archaeological artefacts. It was

found covering the face of

a body in shaft graves in

Mycenae, Greece, in 1876.

Made from a thick sheet

of gold that has been

hammered over a wooden

mould, it depicts the face of

a bearded man. Fine textures,

such as the eyebrows and

beard, were added using a

sharp tool. Heinrich Schliemann,

the archaeologist who found it, claimed he

had “gazed on the face of Agamemnon”,

legendary king and leader of the famous

attack on ancient Troy. This claim was later

refuted when it emerged that the graves,

from around 1500 BCE, predated the Trojan

War by around three centuries, although

the site was still identified as Troy. The

name has stuck, however, and the mask

is accepted as a genuine artefact by the

National Archaeological Museum of Athens,

where it remains a highlight today.

However, critics point to the atypical

features – facial hair, separate ear flaps,

and distinct eyebrows – none of which are

present on other masks of the same

period at the site. Schliemann

had been suspected of

“salting” his previous finds

with treasures from other

sites, and detractors

suggested he may have

planted a forgery, or

reworked an ancient mask.

Calls have been made

to test the age of the mask

• ancient gold is impure and
  contains alloyed minerals
  that corrode over time, which can help
  establish age. However, the Archaeological
  Museum of Athens regards doubts about
  the mask as unfounded, and it remains
  one of the world’s most intriguing pieces
  of precious metalwork, as well as a
  stunning artefact in its own right.

Key dates

c.1500 BCE–1983

1500

1200

0

1800

1900

1950

2000

1850

Archaeologist Heinrich

Schliemann

Mask of Agamemnon

Scene from the Trojan War in a 16th-century Italian

fresco, featuring the Trojan horse, with which Agamemnon

tricked the Trojans and took the city of Troy

Typical ancient Greek

death mask

△ Agamemnon depicted in a painting c.1633

I have gazed

on the face of

Agamemnon

Heinrich Schliemann

in a telegram to a Greek newspaper

on finding the mask

c.1550–1500 BCE

The mask is created and

buried in a grave shaft

c.1260–1180 BCE

The modern date range

of the Trojan War, and

time of mythic figure

Agamemnon, are too late

to coincide with the mask

1871 Heinrich Schliemann

begins work at Troy

(modern-day Hisarlik)

at the behest of British

archaeologist Frank Calvert

1876 Schliemann discovers

the mask and cables the

King of Greece

1972 Archaeologist

David Calder criticizes

Schliemann’s work and

other critics follow, casting

doubt on his finds

1983 The Central

Archaeological Council

rejects a request for the mask

to be tested on advice from

the National Archaeological

Museum, Athens, where

the artefact still resides

288-289_STO_Mask_Agamemnon.indd 289 18/05/2016 10:57