Mycenae was discovered by Heinrich Schleimann in 1870, using Homer's description of the city in "The Iliad" as a sort of map.
The Mycenaean civilization of the Bronze Age existed as early as 1900 BCE, but its high point was between 1400-1200 BCE.

This image shows the famous Lion Gate, which is the main entrance to the citadel at Mycenae.
It is a monumental stone sculpture of two rampant lions standing as sentries over the entrance gate
which is part of the outer wall of the citadel.
The lions heads are missing, but the portals have holes for hinges of the missing (probably wooden) gates.
The walls are about 5 meters thick.

The cause of Mycenae's decline is uncertain, and there are many theories but probably due to an earthquake or possibly being sacked by invaders.
Most of the remains of buildings show evidence of fire, which supports the latter theory.

Inside the citadel, Schliemann found shaft graves with a plethora of gold jewelry and other artifacts.
He also found carved stones, an assortment of cups, pottery, and numerous bronze weapons.

Nearby is another great structure, the Treasury of Atreus, which is shown in another image.
Both the citadel at Mycenae and the Treasury of Atreus which is a self-supporting bee-hive domed tomb
show us that the Mycenaeans were great builders.