has been proposed as the centre of one of two putative Mycenaean states in Achaia, but no signs of palatial structures or administration have been found at the site, making it difficult to argue that Aigeira was the centre of the sort of state apparatus seen in contemporary palatial centres like Mycenae or Pylos. Indeed, the relatively low level of monumentality found in tombs and buildings at this period suggests that local elites, while undoubtedly evidenced from the use of chamber tombs, did not possess the ability to mobilise even relatively small amounts of skilled labour, unlike the contemporary palatial elites elsewhere. Furthermore, the lack of tholos tombs in the vicinity, which are closely associated with palatial elites at other Mycenaean sites, lacks a conclusive explanation: it has been argued that this situation may represent the lack of penetration of palatial social structures and ideology into Achaea, or perhaps that distant centres, such as Mycenae and Aegina, were able to inhibit the growth of Achaean elites, if not to control them directly. Only a few pieces of pottery are known from the LH IIIB period, mostly found on the terraces below the acropolis, and it is possible that the settlement moved to another location, perhaps nearer the coast, during LH IIIB, returning to its original location early in LH IIIC. In the LH IIIC period, the settlement appears to have been destroyed by fire, and rebuilt soon after. Of particular note in this phase is the substantial fortification wall constructed on the eastern side of the new settlement – the only such structure known from this period on the Greek mainland, and one of only two contemporary examples known in the Aegean (alongside Naxos). Unusually for Aegean sites in this period, LH IIIC appears to have been a time of sustained occupation, growth and prosperity: excavations between 2011 and 2016 found evidence of a 'lower town', approximately 12,000m2 in area, centred on the acropolis and occupied over numerous chronological phases in LH IIIC. The distributions of finds of pottery, particularly pithoi, led excavators to conclude that this was a settlement composed of households, characterised by the storage and production of goods as well as feasting. A 'cult room' for religious purposes also dates to this period. Evidence of pottery practices suggests a degree of cultural continuity with the pre-destruction era, with characteristic Mycenaean shapes continuing to be manufactured. Tombs associated