eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

p.84, p.88) follows Alden (1981, 218; 322-324; Sjoberg 2004, 82) in suggesting that the
increase in number of chamber tombs in LHIIIA2 Argolid was the result of better-organised
agriculture imposed upon society by the palaces.
In a similar manner, it may be suggested that ‘simple’ tomb types, such as the cist grave, are
indicative of the lower social status and wealth of a group in a hierarchical society, because
they would perhaps need less skill to build. However, Lewartowski (1995, p.104) states that
the construction of ‘simple’ graves such as cist tombs requires a great investment of time and
energy in comparison to the reopening and reusing of an already built chamber or tholos
tomb. If low social status was to be equated with simple tomb types, then it seems skill or
lack of resources would not be the defining factor, but rather whether permission to reopen
existing monumental tombs had been granted to certain sectors of society. Moreover, there is
reason to suppose that tomb type did not strictly correspond to the status or wealth of the
person buried as assumed, or at least not in the same way that grave goods could, although
this is discussed below. This is something that cannot be assumed for the whole of the Greek
world in the LBA. Dickinson (1994, p.228) concludes that although tholoi may have had
particular connections with the elite at some places, choice of tomb may have more to do with
regional or family tradition and preferences than purely wealth or status. He uses examples of
cist graves at Athens and Iolkos that are as richly endowed as some chamber and tholos
tombs.
There is, however, a problem with directly relating wealth in a grave to wealth of the living
person. Voutsaki (1995) in her analysis of grave goods accepts that there is risk in ascribing
value to objects based on modern concepts of wealth. The argument that objects not made of
high value metals are therefore not of great worth ignores how value may have been assigned
in the past (1995, p.56). In addition, designating value on basis of quality is strongly tied to
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