Roxane’s tomb linked to the Lion of Amphipolis?

Much sooner than I expected, there is a sequel to my short article “Has the tomb of Roxane and young Alexander been located?” In spite of financial shortcuts, it seems archaeological work on this site has not been halted.

We all know that it was Cassander who, as king of Macedonia, sent  Queen Roxane and her son by Alexander the Great to Amphipolis to murder them both shortly afterwards. Under these circumstances, it sounds very strange to hear that this tomb was erected by Dinocrates, builder of Alexandria in Egypt, and the favorite architect of Alexander the Great. Alexander had a soft spot for Amphipolis, from where his fleet sailed east with him in 334 BC, and the city he intended to honor with a magnificent temple – a plan that never materialized due to the king’s untimely death. 

Since my story appeared in October 2012, about three-quarters of the total perimeter of the so-called Kasta Tumulus  has been exposed, making this tomb almost as large as the one in Vergina. The wall of the monument is built of limestone blocks covered with marble slabs from Thasos. It is clear that part of the stones have disappeared or have been removed for use elsewhere over time. It is surprising, however, that archaeologists have been able to establish that the blocks of marble used in the reconstruction of the nearby Lion of Amphipolis actually pertain to this very tomb. It is obvious to whoever has visited this lion monument that a great number of loose blocks and columns are lying around. One of the architects working on the present excavations, M Lefantzis, went so far as to assume that the tomb itself once was covered with soil and topped with a lion, the one that has been reassembled further uphill and known as the Lion of Amphipolis.

During the second century AD, the tomb was deliberately and thoroughly destroyed by the Romans, dragging most of the blocks, including the lion, into the Strymon River. Why this happened and why in such a violent way, I don’t know. At the time of the Balkan wars (1912-1913), Greek soldiers dug out a great deal of blocks from the Strymon riverbed, which led to reassembling the lion monument at the spot where we see it today. A great many pieces could not find a reasonable place in the reassembling works, and they were left behind at the foot of the monument.

Today’s archaeologists are once again collecting and categorizing the numerous marble blocks from the river bed as well as from around the Lion of Amphipolis, and because they have not found a penis, have come to the conclusion that we are looking at a lioness instead. While a lion statue may be used to honor a male hero or king, a lioness traditionally crowns a female tomb. Because of the large size of the Roxane tumulus, it is automatically linked with a female of royal blood, and who else would be important enough here in Amphipolis at the end of the fourth century BC but Roxane?

The inside of the tumulus still remains a secret, and it is quite an exciting thought that it might be the burial site of two persons so dear to Alexander, even if he has never seen his son and heir by Roxane.