The Construction of Mycenaean Tholoi

The masonry dome, vaulted by means of the corbelling of stone blocks in horizontal courses, characterizes the Mycenaean tholos. The results, achieved researching the way by which the Treasury of Atreus' dome performs the actual condition of equilibrium and through the compilation of a complete survey, pointed out the display of the true-dome behaviour (Como 2006; 2007; 2008). In this framework the paper investigates on the successive building phases that could be carried out in the construction work, congruent with the maintenance of the equilibrium condition of the dome also in the phases of partial construction, which is necessary in the lack of provisional support structures.