The ancient city of Mycenae was once thought to exist only in Greek legend and the epic poetry of Homer.  In 1870 an amateur archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann found the fabled city.  The city of Mycenae was the center of a large and powerful Mycenaean Greek civilization, which existed from 1900 to 1125 BC.  The Mycenaean civilization was at its height between 1400 and 1200 BC.  It is believed that the entire civilization consisted of a few loosely joined city-states.  Many imported and domestic artifacts were found in Mycenae.  Most artifacts have been found in shaft graves, many of them excavated by Schliemann and his crew.  One of the most famous is the so-called death mask of Agamemnon.  Schliemann also found carved stones, an assortment of cups, jewelry, pottery, and numerous bronze weapons.  Mycenae is also known for its ancient builders.  The Lion Gate is a main entrance into the citadel at Mycenae.  It is a solid stone carving of two lions which stand as sentries directly over the entrance.  It weighs approximately 20 tons.  This gate is part of the outer wall of the citadel.  The walls have an average thickness of 5 meters.  Another great structure found in Mycenae is the Treasury of Atreus.  The treasury is actually a self-supporting domed tomb measuring 5.40 meters high and 5.20 meters in diameter.  By 1200 BC, the Mycenaean era was deteriorating.  By 1125 BC Mycenae was abandoned.