Shaft Grave period

Refers to the Middle Helladic period and culture associated with the graves that date from around 1600 BCE to around 1400 BCE and were found at Mycenae and other Bronze Age Greek sites. It is characterized by tomb construction that is distinct from earlier and other contemporary cultures in that the tombs were typically arranged in circles and probably were surmounted by tumuli, burials were multiple and successive burials rather than individual, and portable gold and weapons were preferred as grave goods, reminiscent of a nomadic culture.