The Peloponnese: Messinia Prefecture: the Palace of Nestor Page Four

the hearth of the megaron The basic design of the palace resembles those at Mycenae or Tiryns, with an internal court leading off to the other sections of the palace, though reminiscent of Knossos in that it appears not to have been fortified, depending more on sea power than on monumental walls to withstand siege.

There are some 45 rooms and halls, and the megaron, or throne room, has the typical open hearth (left). A very beautiful fresco of a griffin (which may have been the royal emblem) is over the throne (now housed in the museum in Hora).

The storerooms here yielded thousands of pots and cups, leading excavators to believe that the rooms may have been warehouses for the distribution of the products of the royal workshops.