an ancient Greek city on the coast of Messenia in the Peloponnesus; present-day site on Mount Aigalion, 17 km north of the modern city of Pylos. The settlement dates back to the late third or early second millennium B.C. From the 16th to the 13th century B.C., Pylos was the residence of local Achaean rulers.
A joint Greek and American archaeological expedition led by K. Kourouniotis and C. Blegen in 1939 and again from 1952 exposed the remains of a vast palace complex in Pylos. The palace was erected in the 13th century B.C. and was destroyed by fire circa 1200 B.C. About 40 rooms were discovered, including residences, stores, and apartments of state laid out in the characteristic megaron plan. The walls of some of the rooms were lavishly decorated with frescoes. Of particular interest among the many finds (pottery, tools, ornaments made of precious metals and bronze) are the more than 600 clay tablets inscribed in linear script. Below the fortified acropolis are the remains of the city. Nearby are located the royal tholos tombs and the necropolis for the city’s inhabitants.