FOREWORD

The purpose of this booklet is to provide the visitor to western Messenia (Fig. 1) with a compact guide to the Palace of Nestor, excavated by Carl W. Blegen and Marion Rawson between 1939 and 1971, and to principal exca­vated Mycenaean sites nearby2 The excavators' pamphlet, "A Guide to the Palace of Nestor," is here reprinted with revisions and short footnotes to clarify the text and to bring it up to date. Color illustrations substitute, where possible, for the original black-and-whites. In addition to these changes, we have added a short introduction to excava­ted monuments in the vicinity of the Palace of Nestor, and a discussion of the economy, society, and politics of the Pylos kingdom during Late Helladic IIIB (ca. 1300-1200 B.C.)· The decipherment of the many documents found in the remnants of the palace has provided a vivid picture of life in Mycenaean times. At the same time archaeo­logists have been encouraged to seek out the many settle­ments controlled by the palace and mentioned by name in its records. The Palace of Nestor did not stand alone on its citadel on the ridge of Englianos. The visitor to Pylos can today catch a glimpse of the entire ancient landscape that surrounded it. We have also added a section on the Chora Museum, which contains finds from the palace and other sites in the area. (JLD and CWS)