There is not much news to tell about the
ongoing excavations of the Tomb of
Amphipolis, although for reasons beyond my comprehension it is making
headlines all around the world once again.
[The two sphinxes guarding the entrance of the
ancient Macedonian tomb [Credit: INTIME NEWS]]
Excavations at Amphipolis started in
2012 (see: Has
the Tomb of Roxane and young Alexander been located?) and more
information was divulged in the course of 2013 (see: Roxane’s
Tomb linked to the Lion of Amphipolis? and Nonsense
about Alexander’s grave in Amphipolis). There is evidently the link
with Alexander the Great as
speculations tie this tomb to his wife, Queen Roxane who was killed by Cassander
in 311 BC and to her son by Alexander the
Great, Alexander IV. Nothing has
been proved yet though.
The only new elements I can distill from all
these news articles is that apparently the entrance to the tomb has been opened
since they state that two sphinxes were guarding it. Behind them there is 4-5
meter-wide corridor covered with frescoes although no pictures have been
released. I read about columns and decorations of white marble from Thasos but their whereabouts is vague (see this article
in: The
Greek Reporter)
All indicates that this is the burial site of a
prominent Macedonian, maybe a royalty, from 325-300 BC and also that the nearby
Lion of Amphipolis may have stood on
top of this tumulus now under excavation. It may well have been built by the
famous architect Dinocrates, a close
friend of Alexander the Great.
My first idea for all this recent commotion is because
the Greek state desperately needs funds to continue their excavations, for so
far there is no sensational find or any exceptional key element to trigger our
attention.