House of the tiles

The House of the tiles is an Early Bronze Age archaeological site in Lerna, Greece. It is notable for several architectural features that are advanced of its time, notably its roof covered by baked tiles which gave the building its name.John C. Overbeck, “Greek Towns of the Early Bronze Age”, "The Classical Journal", Vol. 65, No. 1. (Oct., 1969), pp. 1-7 (5)] The building belongs to the so-called corridor house type.Joseph W. Shaw, The Early Helladic II Corridor House: Development and Form, "American Journal of Archaeology", Vol. 91, No. 1. (Jan., 1987), pp. 59-79]

The structure stems from the Early Helladic period II (2500-2300 BC) and is referred to as a palace or administrative centre, although it has also been suggested it was the common property of the townspeople.John C. Overbeck, “Greek Towns of the Early Bronze Age”, "The Classical Journal", Vol. 65, No. 1. (Oct., 1969), pp. 1-7 (6)] The exact function remains unknown due to a lack of small finds indicating uses of the building.

The 'House' has a stairway leading to a second stories, and a tiled roof, Joseph W. Shaw, The Early Helladic II Corridor House: Development and Form, "American Journal of Archaeology", Vol. 91, No. 1. (Jan., 1987), pp. 59-79 (59)] which became common in Greek architecture only in the 7th century BC, [Orjan Wikander, “Archaic Roof Tiles the First Generations,” "Hesperia", Vol. 59, No. 1. (Jan. - Mar., 1990), pp. 285-290 (285)] although tiled roofs are also found in the early Helladic site of AkovitikaJoseph W. Shaw, The Early Helladic II Corridor House: Development and Form, "American Journal of Archaeology", Vol. 91, No. 1. (Jan., 1987), pp. 59-79 (72)] and later in the Mycenaean towns of Gla and Midea. [Ione Mylonas Shear, “Excavations on the Acropolis of Midea: Results of the Greek-Swedish Excavations under the Direction of Katie Demakopoulou and Paul åström”, "American Journal of Archaeology", Vol. 104, No. 1. (Jan., 2000), pp. 133-134] Debris found at the site contained thousands of terracotta tiles having fallen from the roof.J. L. Caskey, "Lerna in the Early Bronze Age", "American Journal of Archaeology", Vol. 72, No. 4. (Oct., 1968), pp. 313-316 (314)] The walls of the "House of the tiles" were constructed with sun-dried bricks on stone socles.

Carbon-14 dates indicate that the place was finally destroyed by fire in the 22nd century BC. Not long after the destruction, the place was cleared in a such a way as to leave a low tumulus over the site.

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