An ancient palace unearthed in Greece may be a long-lost palace of Sparta, the famous war-like civilization of ancient times there.
The discovery of the structure, which boasts 10 rooms and is filled with striking artifacts and several tablets written in Linear B script, the earliest known form of written Greek, could reveal clues to a mysterious period in the history of the Mycenaean culture that suddenly collapsed in 1200 B.C., experts say.
"Tradition tells us that Sparta was an important site in the Mycenaean period," says archaeologist Hal Haskell of Southwestern University in Texas, who studies ancient Mycenaean civilization.
Likely the inspiration of "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" epics by Homer, the Mycenaean culture rose to prominence in 1700 B.C., leaving a legacy of palaces, tombs and clay tablets carrying the ancient written language.
Five-hundred years after that the civilization mysteriously disappeared, with theories of centuries-long droughts or massive earthquakes are as possible being responsible.
Although the remains of impressive palaces have been uncovered in other locations, many of them mentioned in Homer's works, no one had ever found a palace in the region of Sparta, despite its importance in Mycenaean civilization.
That makes the recent discovery "hugely significant," says classicist Torsten Meissner of the University of Cambridge in England.
"Mycenaean, or Bronze Age, Sparta was the last 'big prize' " in the hunt for archaeological evidence of the civilization, he says.
The discovered ruins were either the palace itself or may have contained the palace archives, according to the Greek Ministry of Culture.
The hilly area where the ruins were discovered has been the focus of archaeological studies since 2009 to uncover "the importance of the archaeological wealth and cultural heritage of the country," Greek officials said in a statement.
In addition to the tablets, researches have uncovered clay figurines, swords, objects of worship and mural fragments.
The discoveries will shed light on the "political, administrative, economic and societal organization of the region" and highlight "new information on the beliefs and language systems of the Mycenaean people," the ministry statement said.
