Works carried out on a sewage network in the area of one of the necropolises in Aigai (modern Vergina), one of the capitals of ancient Macedonia and the burial ground of the royal family, have brought to light an important monumental tomb.
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| The interior of the tomb, photo: Angeliki Kottaridis |
Angeliki Kottaridis, Director at Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai - Vergina, announced this and other finds at the 36th Annual Archaeological Meeting for The Archaeological Project in Macedonia and Thrace in 2023 recently held in Thessaloniki.
The tomb was located at the north west edge of the necropolis and was discovered when a drainage channel was being dug. Archaeologists quickly moved in to excavate the tomb, the presence of tumuli in the area had already alerted them to the fact that they were likely to come across burials . The tomb had a simple plastered façade but the ornamental door as so often seen in this type of Macedonian tomb was missing and the doorway was closed with stones. However, the remains of a funeral pyre were found outside the tomb and excavated, providing valuable information for the archaeologists (as yet unpublished).
The tomb comprises a rectangular chamber of 3.7 by 2.7 metres with a vaulted ceiling. The walls are plastered and painted, the lower parts of the walls are red, the upper parts and vaulting white. A painted gold ribbon runs around the walls just above the red section, tied with a bow in the middle of each wall.
The tomb contained two individuals, with a male being the first person to be buried within it. The male was buried with his weapons, including a shield. Fragments of the shield were reinforced with iron in parts, indicating a shield of very good quality. Archaeologists have therefore hypothesized that the man might have been a ‘Hypaspist’, a member of an elite Macedonian military unit created during the reign of Philip II of Macedon. The unit carried large concave shields, and their equipment is thought to have been more ornate than the main line soldiers.
Archaeologists were also able to discern, from the mortar on the façade, that there were two phases of construction. It seems that the remains of a woman were inserted into the tomb at a later date. Kottaridis showed slides of some of the jewellery found in the tomb at the conference, but these have not yet been released to the public. A gold myrtle wreath was one of the finds, testament to the wealth of the Macedonian state at the time. Until the archaeological reports are published, it will remain a matter of speculation whether the original doorway to the tomb was removed and the stone wall replaced it at the time of the secondary burial, perhaps in haste, accounting for the unusual manner in which the tomb was sealed. The tomb has been dated to the 3rd century BCE.
Kottaridis also revealed that part of the ancient city wall was also discovered during the construction works on the road that goes up to the Palace of Aigai. The discovery of the wall, more than two metres wide, provides evidence for some of the limits of the ancient city. Previously archaeologists had uncovered parts of the 5th century BCE wall, dating back to the reign of Perdiccas II, which was half this size in width.
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| Helmet of the Illyrian type |
Other excavation results reported on by Kottaridis concerned burials in the heart of the necropolis. These included the burial of a warrior, with a bronze helmet of Illyrian type at his feet and a sword in his right hand which has been placed across his chest. Also recovered from this burial were finger rings and the fibula which would have fastened the man’s cloak. Another tomb was dated to the archaic period, around 530 BC.
Finds from the Archaic period
Images taken from the Facebook page of Angeliki Kottaridi: https://shorturl.at/aotvC
Further reading: https://www.amna.gr/macedonia/article/807918/Makedonikos-tafos-enos-plousiou-upaspisti-kai-tis-gunaikas-tou-brethike-stis-Aiges-to-2023
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