In 1876, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated a royal shaft grave at Mycenae in southern Greece and uncovered a gold funerary mask. Found in Grave Circle A, specifically Grave V, the artifact was one of five gold masks buried with high-status men, who were also interred with weapons. Believing he had unearthed the grave of Agamemnon, the legendary king who led the Greeks in the Trojan War, Schliemann famously declared, 'I have gazed upon the face of Agamemnon.' The mask was crafted from a single sheet of gold, hammered into shape and detailed with chased lines to form facial features. Unlike the flatter, more stylized other masks from the same site, this one had dimensional features, pierced ears, and a distinctive pointed beard and mustache, giving it a unique, lifelike appearance. It became one of the most iconic artifacts of Mycenaean civilization and earned the nickname 'the Mona Lisa of prehistory.' Despite its fame, the mask’s authenticity was questioned in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Critics like William Calder III and David Traill pointed to Schliemann's history of planting artifacts and highlighted stylistic differences between this mask and the others found in the same grave circle. However, defenders of the mask's authenticity noted that it was discovered under the strict supervision of Greek authorities, specifically Panagiotis Stamatakis, who halted excavations during inclement weather and ensured oversight during key finds. Furthermore, they argued that stylistic diversity was plausible within elite Mycenaean art and pointed to similarities with other luxury items from the same context, like the lion-head rhyton. Today, most archaeologists agree that the mask is genuine but dates to around the 16th century BCE, centuries before the era traditionally linked to the Trojan War. Though it is unlikely to represent the historical Agamemnon—if he existed at all—the Mask of Agamemnon remains a powerful symbol of Bronze Age Greece and the myths it helped inspire.