To pursue ancient civilizations, one naturally cannot confine their research to the comfort of libraries, research institutes, universities, and museums. Instead, they venture into the wilderness to explore the sites of these ancient civilizations.
For instance, the Mycenaean site that Liang En was searching for this time required them to leave the urban confines of Athens and head westward by car towards the cradle of early Greek civilization—the Peloponnesian Peninsula.
The Mycenaean civilization was a very ancient one, wilder than the Greek civilizations spoken of today, predating them by a thousand years and with a greater emphasis on martial prowess.
The earliest impressions people had of this civilization came from the ancient "Homer's Epic." According to the narrative, they once embarked on a decade-long expedition across the sea for Helen.
Eventually, they used the Trojan Horse strategy to destroy Troy and emerge victorious. However, the victors had little chance to enjoy the fruits of their victory, as Mycenae's king, Agamemnon, met his end through a conspirator's scheme.
As they drove westward, a canal as sharp as a cut from a sword appeared before them—the renowned Corinth Canal of the Greek region.
Historical records indicate that in AD 67, the Roman Emperor Nero began attempts to excavate the canal, followed by efforts in the Byzantine era and the Middle Ages. However, it wasn't until the 19th century that the canal was successfully excavated.
This was mainly due to local terrain issues—the canal is only 6.3 kilometers long but rises 90 meters from the waterline to the shore, making it one of the deepest canals ever dug and one of the few excavated in hard rock areas.
Regrettably, as shipbuilding and maritime navigation technologies advanced, the canal, with its depth of 8 meters and maximum width of 24 meters, no longer meets modern needs.
In the past, ships had to sail close to the coast, so navigating around the Peloponnesian Peninsula was risky and required a canal to bypass dangerous areas.
Nowadays, ships can sail far from the coast and much faster, making the safety and time savings provided by the Corinth Canal less significant than in the past.
Not to mention, although the canal was carved out of stone, the rock is not particularly hard, so the maintenance and operational costs are quite high, making it economically unfeasible.
Fortunately, the canal's unique landscape attracts a large number of tourists, so today, the canal remains busy. Despite the high tolls, about 30 ships pass through the canal daily.
Statistically, about 11,000 ships navigate the canal each year, most of them ferries and tourist vessels, as the canal's deep, straight rock walls are a must-see for many visitors to Greece.
As Liang En and his companions crossed the canal bridge, they saw a white tourist boat passing below, while visitors at the nearby viewing platform restaurant waved enthusiastically, creating a lively scene.
Unfortunately, once they crossed the canal, everything around them became desolate. Entering the rolling hills of the Peloponnesian Peninsula, the surroundings appeared somewhat bleak.
Roadsides were lined with lush greenery, but human presence was scarce. Occasionally, in a small village, one might see a few modest stone cottages with 'For Rent' signs, though they seemed to lack business.
After all, it was the off-season for Mediterranean travel, and such remote places naturally lacked bustle, with local industries appearing somewhat less lively.
"We'll head to this place next." During a stop at a roadside rest area for a meal, Liang En unfolded a map and pointed to a small mountain several kilometers away, "I think this place might have what we're looking for."
As they neared their destination, Liang En began to explain his choice of target and the reasons behind it, giving everyone a clear understanding.
"Hmm—this place indeed looks like it might contain ancient ruins," Joan of Arc observed carefully after examining the topographic map.
"This small mountain is perfectly situated near an ancient road, and with its easily defensible yet hard-to-attack terrain, I believe any sensible person would choose this mountain as a site for building defensive structures or even a small city."
"What's more, this small mountain's village is called Mycenae, and satellite maps show that part of it is clearly man-made structures on the surface."
Finding Mycenae was simpler than finding Troy, but due to the plethora of ancient ruins throughout Greece, this mountain-top relic was merely cursorily recorded.
After all, the exposed surface features were just some rough stone blocks, so it was indeed easy to mistake this site for a medieval castle ruin before further excavation.
As for the name 'Mycenae,' it sounds familiar, but there are several places on the Peloponnesian Peninsula with this name, making it hard to believe that this site holds valuable relics.
Considering Greece's rich historical and cultural heritage and the sparse archaeological resources and limited funding, it's understandable that local efforts haven't focused here.
However, the Greek archaeological departments could never have guessed that this site, deemed of little value and thought to be a medieval fortress, was actually the legendary Mycenaean ruins.
"Then I have a question, where does the water come from on this mountain?" Fan Meng suddenly asked after a while. "The mountain is indeed easy to defend and hard to attack, but its height also makes water access potentially difficult."
As a military man, Fan Meng was very sensitive to matters related to warfare, so he realized that it would be difficult to utilize ancient techniques to extract groundwater here, and the area lacked sufficient surface water sources.
For the defenders of a military zone, lacking water is a critical issue. To illustrate, when Zhuge Liang sent Ma Su to defend Jieting during his northern expedition, Ma Su was defeated due to the lack of water on the mountain.
Not to mention, a city requires much more water than a purely military fortress, so building a city in a place without adequate water resources always seems strange.
"This might be because there are reservoirs inside the city. Aside from a few cities, most ancient Greek cities were not very large, even compared to purely medieval fortresses," Liang En explained.
"More importantly, this location is excellent, situated near the Corinth Isthmus and at a convergence of land and water, making it ideal for the development of various trades."
This was crucial for Liang En, as ancient legends described Mycenae as "rich in gold." Considering the lack of local mineral resources and favorable natural conditions, wealth likely came from trade.
In this case, this site with its superb geographical position might indeed be the ancient city of Mycenaean, and what Liang En and his team needed to do now was to confirm this hypothesis through their own excavation efforts.
Thank you for reading this far! You can access more chapters from HERE by joining my Patreon community. You'll gain exclusive early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.
As a member of my Patreon community, here is what you'll get:
For $5
- Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public.
- You also get access to all the novels I'm translating, you can find them here HERE.
- Your name will be featured on the "Wall of Gratitude".
- The power to vote on which novel I translate next.
- You Get Ad-free Chapters.
For $10
- You get to suggest a Novel for me to translate.
- You get to recommend a Novel and I will immediately start translating it.
Plus, you can Cancel your membership at any time.
Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!
