You can imagine their agony for the fortune of the city after the death of its king and for his own fate. The buzzing sound from the wild beehives nested in the monument transmit a primordial tension to the senses. The burial chamber is round (its diameter 14.60 m) and tall (height 13.30m). The dome is constructed on the logic of the beehive: 33 subsequent layers of smooth, long stones, in perfect assembly.
Already at the time of the traveller Pausanias (2nd century AD), the inhabitants of the region were familiar with the monument as the "Treasury of Atreus". In other words, as the treasury of the founder of the legendary Mycenaean acropolis. The tomb had been already plundered and was partially buried under the soil. However, during past centuries, shepherds used it as a shelter by removing the keystone, so that the smoke from their campfire would find a way out, leaving its marks of the side of the dome. It is the most monumental tomb of the Mycenaean period (1350-1250 BCE) and is preserved in excellent condition. This tomb and the "Gate of the Lions", with which it is contemporary, are considered to be the most impressive examples of Mycenaean architecture. Evidently, it belongs to an important member of the royal family of Mycenae who lived though, before the time that Atreus is mentioned to have lived.
