 Beginning also in the Late Helladic period are to be seen communal tombs of rectangular form . Nevertheless , it is difficult to establish whether the different forms of burial represent a social hierarchization , as was formerly thought , with the " tholos " being the tombs of the elite rulers , the individual tombs those of the leisure class , and the communal tombs those of the people . Cremations increased in number over the course of the period , becoming quite numerous in last phase of the Mycenaean era . The tholos was introduced during the early 15th century as the new and more imposing form of elite . The most impressive tombs of the Mycenaean era are the monumental royal tombs of Mycenae , undoubtedly intended for the royal family of the city . The most famous is the Treasury of Atreus , a tholos . A total of nine of such tholos tombs are found in the region of Mycenae , while six of them belong to a single period ( Late Helladic IIa , c . 1400 @-@ 1300 BC ) . It has been argued that different dynasties or factions may have competed through conspicuous burial . 
