The Citadel of Tiryns was a major Mycenaean citadel that was believed to be built by Proitos, the grandfather of Perseus and founder of Mycenae in approximately 1600 BC. During excavations of the area in 1913, a tholos tomb—a beehive-shaped structure—was discovered one kilometer below the citadel on the west slope of Profitis Ilias Hill. Tholos tombs were not uncommon in ancient Greece, especially in this area of the country. This tholos, much like the others, is characterized by a high-pitched false dome that resembles a beehive. The ancient tomb of Tiryns sits at the end of a 10-foot-wide, 42-foot-long sunken walkway flanked by slabs of limestone that lead to a large, double-door entrance. This entrance has wall paintings and connects to the 28-foot-diameter interior chamber. The people who rediscovered the tomb found it to be in excellent condition. There were no sarcophagus found inside, only potsherd, as well as a strange, round stone believed to be an altar of some kind and a rectangular stone with a square indentation carved in the rear. It is unknown who built the tomb, or who exactly it was built for. But based on its size and analysis of the potsherd, it appears the tomb was built for a cult hero in between 1300 and 1400 BC. It is believed the tomb was either never used as designed or was looted during Roman times.

Tiryns is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, some kilometres north of Nauplion. Tiryns was a hill fort with occupation ranging back seven thousand years, from before the beginning of the Bronze Age. It reached its height between 1400 and 1200 BC. Its most notable features were its palace, its cyclopean tunnels and especially its walls, which gave the city its Homeric epithet of "mighty walled Tiryns". In ancient times, the city was linked to the myths surrounding Heracles, with some sources citing it as his birthplace. The famous megaron of the palace of Tiryns has a large reception hall, the main room of which had a throne placed against the right wall and a central hearth bordered by four Minoan-style wooden columns that served as supports for the roof. Two of the three walls of the megaron were incorporated into an archaic temple of Hera. The site went into decline at the end of the Mycenaean period, and was completely deserted by the time Pausanias visited in the 2nd century AD. This site was excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in 1884-1885, and is the subject of ongoing excavations by the German Archaeological Institute at Athens and the University of Heidelberg. Tiryns was recognized as one of the World Heritage Sites in 1999. History-Archaeology In Tiryns flourished one of the most important centers of the Mycenaean world, and in particular in Argolis. Its ruins are located about 15 km southeast of Mycenae, in a long hill 300 m long, 45–100 m wide, and no more than 18 meters high. At the top of the hill was a fortified Acropolis similar to those found in other Mycenean cities. Protected by enormous walls, it served as the king's full-time residence and as a place of refuge for the city's inhabitants in time of war. The city proper surrounded the acropolis on the plain below. The History of The Settlement The area was inhabited by the prehistoric time. The lesser neolithic settlement followed, in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, a flourishing early pre-Hellenic settlement. From this period survived under a yard of a Mycenaean palace, an imposing circular structure 28 meters in diameter, which should be a fortress or a residence of a king. Its base was powerful, and was constructed from two concentric stone walls, among which there were others cross-cutting, so that the thickness reached 45 m. Excavations The Acropolis was first excavated by the German archaeologist Tirs in 1831. In 1876, Heinrich Schliemann considered the palace of Tiryns to be medieval, so he came very close to destroying the remains in order to excavate deeper for Mycenaean treasures. Fortunately, the next period of excavation was under Wilhelm Dörpfeld, a director of the German Archaeological Institute, so this time the ruins were estimated and reflected on properly. The Archaeological Site The walls extend to the entire area of the top of the hill. Their bases survive throughout all of their length, and their height in some places reaches 7 meters, slightly below the original height, which is estimated at 9,10 m. The thickness of the wall is very large, usually reaches the 6 meters, while at the points that are opened the famous tunnels up to 17 m. A strong transverse wall is separating the acropolis in two sections -the south includes the palatial buildings, while the northern protects only the top of the hill area. In this second section, which dates to the end of the Mycenaean times, from time to time are opened small gates and many tunnels, covered with a triangular roof, which is served as a refuge for the inhabitants of the lower city in times of danger.