# Question about walled cities/fortresses of antiquity **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-walled-cities-fortresses-of-antiquity/476480 "2008-12-10T01:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-walled-cities-fortresses-of-antiquity/476480/41 "2009-01-25T23:33:21Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > It has been suggested that the cliffs were not there when it was built and the Fort may have been a full circle originally. Erosion of over 2000 years can do that. This was on an episode of the BBC programme “Coast”. Originally, the fort was built a large distance away from the coast. The sea there is particularly wild, and they showed boulders that had been thrown hundreds of metres by waves. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-walled-cities-fortresses-of-antiquity/476480/42 "2009-01-25T23:51:47Z")
Mycenae? [http://www.aetoma.com/cephalonia/lg\_c20040714-10h46m18s-S.jpg](http://www.aetoma.com/cephalonia/lg_c20040714-10h46m18s-S.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-walled-cities-fortresses-of-antiquity/476480/43 "2009-01-26T13:53:34Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > This was on an episode of the BBC programme “Coast”. Originally, the fort was built a large distance away from the coast. The sea there is particularly wild, and they showed boulders that had been thrown hundreds of metres by waves. I seem to recall from the same programme? that they weren’t forts as such but livestock enclosures but I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-walled-cities-fortresses-of-antiquity/476480/44 "2009-01-26T14:09:57Z")
> [@capybara](#): > > Mycenae? > [http://www.aetoma.com/cephalonia/lg\_c20040714-10h46m18s-S.jpg](http://www.aetoma.com/cephalonia/lg_c20040714-10h46m18s-S.jpg) No. That map is confusing. Mycenae is on top of a hill. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-walled-cities-fortresses-of-antiquity/476480/45 "2009-01-27T00:24:01Z")
> [@capybara](#): > > Mycenae? > [http://www.aetoma.com/cephalonia/lg\_c20040714-10h46m18s-S.jpg](http://www.aetoma.com/cephalonia/lg_c20040714-10h46m18s-S.jpg) > [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#): > > No. That map is confusing. Mycenae is on top of a hill. That is an exceptionally confusing map. [Here is another version](http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/Images/ARTH209images/Mycenaean/Mycenae_recon.jpg) which looks to be the same exact drawing. What the hell? It clearly depicts a huge cliff looming over the citadel. I’ve been looking around for another, more lucid reconstruction of Mycenae, but that appears to be the most popular one. Note to the people of Mycenae: your citadel has been in ruins for millenia. You don’t need to distribute false and confusing maps that feature made-up terrain. You are annoying potential tourists. Schliemann is dead too; he’s not going to steal any more of your stuff. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-walled-cities-fortresses-of-antiquity/476480/46 "2009-01-27T03:41:58Z")
On a practical matter, no cities would use any such arrangement. Cliffs restrict movement and movement == trade, which the cities need to survive. C’est la vie. Town, maybe. Fortress, sure. City, no. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-walled-cities-fortresses-of-antiquity/476480/47 "2009-01-27T07:49:34Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > That is an exceptionally confusing map. [Here is another version](http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/Images/ARTH209images/Mycenaean/Mycenae_recon.jpg) which looks to be the same exact drawing. What the hell? It clearly depicts a huge cliff looming over the citadel. I’ve been looking around for another, more lucid reconstruction of Mycenae, but that appears to be the most popular one. > > Note to the people of Mycenae: your citadel has been in ruins for millenia. You don’t need to distribute false and confusing maps that feature made-up terrain. You are annoying potential tourists. Schliemann is dead too; he’s not going to steal any more of your stuff. It’s definitely a confusing map, but I don’t think deliberately so. What you’re taking as a cliff, is in fact a representation of a ravine, which is indeed what is there ([see this comparison](http://www.greeklandscapes.com/images/destinations/mycene/mycenae_aerial_photo.jpg)). Please don’t be put off! Mycenae is a fantastic site in a beautiful setting. There’s now an excellent museum their as well, where you can see (amongst other things) reproductions of the gold grave goods Schliemann found. The originals are in Athens - Schliemann didn’t steal anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-walled-cities-fortresses-of-antiquity/476480.md?page=2)