<P> These incidents appear to have prompted the massive strengthening and expansion of the fortifications in various sites . In some cases, arrangements were also made for the creation of subterranean passages which led to underground cisterns . Tiryns, Midea and Athens expanded their defences with new cyclopean - style walls . The extension program in Mycenae almost doubled the fortified area of the citadel . To this phase of extension belongs the impressive Lion Gate, the main entrance into the Mycenaean acropolis . </P> <P> It appears that after this first wave of destruction a short - lived revival of Mycenaean culture followed . Mycenaean Greece continues to be mentioned in international affairs, particularly in Hittite records . In c. 1220 BC, the king of Ahhiyawa is again reported to have been involved in an anti-Hittite uprising in western Anatolia . Another contemporary Hittite account reports that Ahhiyawan ships should avoid Assyrian - controlled harbors, as part of a trade embargo imposed on Assyria . In general, in the second half of 13th century BC, trade was in decline in the Eastern Mediterranean, most probably due to the unstable political environment there . </P> <P> None of the defence measures appear to have prevented the final destruction and collapse of the Mycenaean states . A second destruction struck Mycenae in ca . 1190 BC or shortly thereafter . This event marked the end of Mycenae as a major power . The site was then reoccupied, but on a smaller scale . The palace of Pylos, in the southwestern Peloponnese, was destroyed in c. 1180 BC . The Linear B archives found there, preserved by the heat of the fire that destroyed the palace, mention hasty defence preparations due to an imminent attack without giving any detail about the attacking force . </P> <P> As a result of this turmoil, specific regions in mainland Greece witnessed a dramatic population decrease, especially Boeotia, Argolis and Messenia . Mycenaean refugees migrated to Cyprus and the Levantine coast . Nevertheless, other regions on the edge of the Mycenaean world prospered, such as the Ionian islands, the northwestern Peloponnese, parts of Attica and a number of Aegean islands . The acropolis of Athens, oddly, appears to have avoided destruction . </P>

What happened to the mycenaean cities and to writing in this period