Archaeologists excavating an ancient mound in northern Greece have uncovered what appears to be the entrance to an important tomb from about the end of the reign of warrior-king Alexander the Great, officials said Tuesday.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who visited the tightly-guarded site Tuesday,
said the discovery "is clearly extremely important" and dates
between 325-300 BC.
Alexander, who started from the northern Greek region of Macedonia to build an
empire stretching as far as India, died in 323 BC and was buried in Egypt.
His fellow royals were traditionally interred in a cemetery near Vergina,
far to the west, where the lavishly-furnished tomb of Alexander's father,
Philip II, was discovered in the 1970s.
But archaeologists believe the apparently unlooted Amphipolis grave, which is
surrounded by a surprisingly long and well-built wall with courses of marble
decorations, may have belonged to a senior ancient official.
Excavator
Katerina Peristeri has argued that the mound was originally topped by a
large stone lion that was unearthed a century ago some 5 kilometers from the
site. In the past, the lion has been associated with Laomedon of Mytilene,
one of Alexander's military commanders who became governor of Syria after
the king's death.
SOURCE :THE TELEGRAPH
SOURCE :THE TELEGRAPH
