Room for improvement...

Mycenae, Greece is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site and was first excavated in the 1870s by Heinrich Schliemann. However, it seems that even though Mycenae has been studied for over a hundred years there are few websites that are dedicated (or even touch on) the grave circles found there. I chose to look at Dr. J's Illustrated Grave Circles and see how it held up to our rubric.

First of all, the site is not particularly attractive.  It's simple and is easy to look at, but it's lacking any sort of pizzazz that would keep my attention. It is very easy to navigate though as there is only one page on the Grave Circles. There are others on the various other "finds" at Mycenae and there is a great "site index" link that lays everything out. 

Content wise, this page is sorely lacking. There are brief descriptions explaining various photos and a very short introduction but there is no attempt to analyze or look at the multiple excavations in depth. To be fair, the website seems to be geared more toward those perhaps travelling to Mycenae rather than those interested in the archaeological record. Saying that, there are some great photos both of the site and the significant artifacts that were found. The content is also clearly articulated though not particularly interesting. The major downfall of this site (besides the design) is the lack of sources. Although the author clearly has done some reading or is herself knowledgeable it would be nice to see some bibliographic links.

Overall, Dr J's website is a great introduction to the Grave Circles at Mycenae. Held to my group's rubric I would say that it falls into the "good" category rather than the "strong" or "excellent". The things that would make it better, and which we hope to achieve with our site, are definitely more depth in the content and a greater degree of design. Dr J's page is boring and in no way reflects the awesomeness and importance of the Grave Circles or the Mycenaean culture.