<P> Legend has it that the name was connected to the Greek word mycēs (μύκης, "mushroom"). Thus, Pausanias ascribes the name to the legendary founder Perseus, who was said to have named it either after the cap (mykēs) of the sheath of his sword, or after a mushroom he had plucked on the site . </P> <P> The earliest written form of the name is Mykēnē (Μυκήνη), which is found in Homer . The reconstructed Mycenaean Greek name of the site is Mukānai, which has the form of a plural like Athênai . The change of ā to ē in more recent versions of the name is the result of a well - known sound change in later Attic - Ionic . </P> <P> Mycenae, an acropolis site, was continuously inhabited from the Early Neolithic (EN) down through the Early Helladic (EH) and Middle Helladic (MH) periods; EN Rainbow Ware constitutes the earliest ceramic evidence discovered so far . Pottery material spanning the entire EHI through EHIII period was discovered in 1877--1878 by Stamatakis at a low depth in the sixth shaft grave in Grave Circle A; further EH and MH material was found beneath the walls and floors of the palace, on the summit of the acropolis, and outside the Lion Gate in the area of the ancient cemetery . An EH--MH settlement was discovered near a fresh - water well on top of the Kalkani hill southwest of the acropolis . The first burials in pits or cist graves manifest in the MH period (circa 1800--1700 BC) on the west slope of the acropolis, which was at least partially enclosed by the earliest circuit wall . </P> <P> During the Bronze Age, the pattern of settlement at Mycenae was a fortified hill surrounded by hamlets and estates, in contrast to the dense urbanity on the coast (cf . Argos). Since Mycenae was the capital of a state that ruled, or dominated, much of the eastern Mediterranean world, the rulers must have placed their stronghold in this less populated and more remote region for its defensive value . Since there are few documents on site with datable contents (such as an Egyptian scarab) and since no dendrochronology has yet been performed upon the remains here, the events are listed here according to Helladic period material culture . </P>

What name has been given to the type of walls found at mycenae