Editing Mycenae (section)

===Early and Middle Bronze Age===
The population had grown considerably by the Middle Helladic. As elsewhere, a dominant [[Minoan civilization|Cretan influence]] prevailed from c. 1600 BC, the first evidence of this coming from the shaft graves discovered in 1876 by [[Heinrich Schliemann]].<ref name="BM20"/> Schliemann's shaft graves came to be known as [[Grave Circle A, Mycenae|Circle A]] to distinguish them from the [[Grave Circle B, Mycenae|Circle B graves]], which were found at a later date, although Circle B are the earlier graves, dated c. 1650 BC to c. 1550 BC and entirely within MHIII. Circle A is dated to the sixteenth century BC, including the transition from Middle to [[Helladic chronology#Late Helladic I (LHI)|Late Helladic IA]] (LHIA; c. 1550 – c. 1500 BC).<ref name="BM20"/> The contents of Circle B are less wealthy than those of Circle A.<ref name="BM22">{{harvnb|Bury|Meiggs|1975|p=22}}</ref>

Pottery material spanning the entire Early Helladic was discovered 1877 by [[Panagiotis Stamatakis]] at a low depth in the sixth shaft grave in Circle A. Further EH and MH material was found beneath the walls and floors of the palace, on the summit of the acropolis and outside the [[Lion Gate]] in the area of the ancient cemetery.<ref name="Forsén51–52">{{harvnb|Forsén|1992|loc="Mycenae – Argolid (A:5)", pp. 51–52}}.</ref> An EH–MH settlement was discovered near a fresh-water well on top of the Kalkani hill south-west of the acropolis.<ref name="Forsén51–52"/> The first burials in pits or [[cist]] graves manifest in MHII (c. 1800 BC) on the west slope of the acropolis, which was at least partially enclosed by the earliest [[circuit wall]].<ref name="Forsén51–52"/>