The general course of the excavations at Lerna has often been recorded, beginning with Caskey’s reports in Hesperia (Caskey 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959) and most recently by Wiencke in Lerna IV (Wiencke 2000: 2–3). The excitement created by the discovery of the House of the Tiles dominated early accounts of the excavation, but even in his first report Caskey recognized that at least two Early Helladic (EH) phases followed upon the destruction of the House of the Tiles (Caskey 1954: 29). As work progressed, the distinction between the EH II and EH III layers became more evident,...

For the buildings, see the concordance of plan numbers and page numbers in Appendix I; for the bothroi, Appendix III; and for other features (hearths, e.g.), the general index.

In the most general terms, the building plans of the Lerna IV settlement can be characterized as rectilinear or apsidal, the most common representative of the former being a structure of trapezoidal outline (e.g., Building W-9; Plan 6), and of the latter, an elongated building basically rectangular but with one rounded end (e.g., Building W-1; Plan 5). A few D-shaped buildings we classify as abbreviated versions of the apsidal plan (e....

At the time of the excavations in the 1950’s, the most enigmatic of the discoveries of any period at Lerna was the low tumulus of destruction debris that was shaped purposefully over the House of the Tiles and was defined by an encircling ring of stones (Plans 2, 3). The discovery of the preserved groups of the distinctive rounded stones that made up the circle and the realization of their function vis-à-vis the mound of debris was described by Caskey in his annual reports in Hesperia (1954: 23; 1955: 36, 43, pl. 20:b; 1956: 164–165, figs. 3, 5, pl....

Owing to its attractive location by the sea with a fresh water stream flowing from the spring Amymone among its natural resources, the site at Lerna probably was not left uninhabited for long after the destruction of the House of the Tiles and the raising of the tumulus. If there was a gap corresponding to the earliest stage of EH III in the Argolid, as has been suggested by some (see, e.g., Manning 1995: 55–60), it was a brief one. In Rutter’s view, the short life of the Fourth Settlement began ca. 2200/2150 b.c. and ended ca. 2050/2000 b.c.;...

The most intense building activity of the second phase of the Lerna IV settlement in the area of the site excavated was in the southeast, in the general area occupied by Building W-9 in Lerna IV.1 (Squares F 1–20/g 5–17). Here there were two clearly defined constructional phases: to the north, trapezoidal Building W-52, which, as rebuilt after a destructive fire, we identify as Building W-56; to the south, Megaron W-63 was preceded by large court W-68, above which was constructed trapezoidal Building W-70; to the west of this were fragmentary remains of another trapezoidal structure, Building W-76...

The transition from Lerna IV.2 to Lerna IV.3, the final stage of the Fourth Settlement, was marked by significant changes in configuration, most notably in the building plans, orientation, and density of the architectural units, which, by the end of the period, resulted in the extension of the settlement over the entire area of the tumulus (Plan 23, Sections 1–4). The number of inhabitants must have risen sharply, and the abruptness of the increase in population would appear to reflect an influx of new settlers rather than a gradual growth in numbers owing to a rise in the birth...

At the beginning of the excavations in 1952, trench D was laid out at the eastern periphery of the mound, where it had been cut back in the course of the installation of the tracks of the national railroad in 1891–1892 (Plans 1, 2). The fruitful results of this test, which was carried down to the modern water table reached at +0.70, encouraged Caskey to enlarge the area of exploration in the 1953 campaign, and excavation was pursued here annually into the 1955 season (Caskey 1954: 6–11; 1955: 27–30; 1956: 148–152, pl. 38:a–c). A rich...

In the early years of the excavation small trenches were dug to test the strata in a variety of locations on and around the tumulus (Plan 1). Of those productive of Lerna IV remains were trenches C and K, to the north and west of what became the main excavated area, the former in Square E/e, the latter in Squares B–C/f. In a later season trench DA was excavated, well north of Area D near the railroad track in Square H/c, in order to explore the strata outside the modern orchard, in which no excavation was allowed, and it...

The Fourth Settlement at Lerna was short-lived, existing for some 150 years between 2200/2150–2050/2000 b.c. Rutter would allot 25–50 years each to IV.1 and IV.2, 50–100 years to IV.3 (Rutter 1995: 641).

Certainly the location of Lerna was a promising one and the site had been occupied, albeit not continuously, since late Early Neolithic times (Vitelli 2007). About the same distance from the sea as it is now (Zangger 1991: 7, figs. 5, 9), the site is situated in the Argive plain south and west of the valleys of the Xerias and Inachos rivers. Though tucked into...