We know nearly nothing about the architecture of the Acropolis before Archaic times. During the Mycenaean period, there was a "cylopean" stone circuit wall around the hill, following the contours of the ridges and featuring at least one oblique gateway in typical Mycenaean style. Most scholars assume there was a Mycenaean "palace" within, or some sort of regional administration building, but virtually nothing of it survives (a column base and a few sandstone ashlar blocks). Even the archaic structures, like the "Old" Temple of Athena Polias, are only extant in fragments and vague foundations. Recall that the Persians burned Athens and the Acropolis in 480 BCE, and that destruction, along with the subsequent cleanup, meant that most of the prior material was swept up and buried in pits.

A thorough and recent monograph on the Mycenaean acropolis is Iakovidis, The Mycenaean Acropolis of Athens 2006.