Interesting artist’s reconstruction of the tomb at Kasta Hill near Amphipolis

Archaeology News Network published an interesting hypothetical reconstruction of the tomb at Kasta Hill near Amphipolis.

[Drawing from Archaeology News Network]

The latest official news is that thorough tests will be carried out on the bones found in the burial site. If DNA examination will lead to anything conclusive is very much debated since a comparison with the remains found in the Vergina tumulus and believed to belong to King Philip II is not really an option since those bones have been cremated.

More interesting news comes from Andrew Chugg who has been following the Amphipolis operations very closely (see also: A wonderful analysis of Amphipolis by Andrew Chugg). One of his first conclusions is that this tomb definitely doesn’t belong to Hephaistion who was named among the many possible occupants, simply because we know for certain that he was cremated in great pump which is not the case for these bones at Amphipolis.

I also agree that it is most unusual in those days for a Macedonian of high status to be buried without being previously cremated. The entire monument of Amphipolis is pointing towards a burial site of an important person and it is indeed very strange to find such a “simple” cist tomb inside – a shear contrast with the high standards of the rest of the monument.

By reading further in Andrew Chugg’s latest article in the Greek Reporter, it is clear that he is still convinced that Queen Olympias is the most plausible candidate and his argumentation is rather convincing (for the full story read: Is the Mother of Alexander the Great in the Tomb at Amphipolis? Part 7: The Skeleton). We know that Cassander was capable of many intrigues that fitted his cause, so I would say this theory is one among many but not impossible. We have to wait for the results of further research to draw more substantiated conclusion. Besides, we still don’t know whether the bones belong to a male or a female.

Yet, I do share Chugg’s hopes that if this truly is the skeleton of Olympias, her DNA could be compared to that of the bones kept inside the sarcophagus at the San Marco Basilica in Venice which he believes are Alexander’s and not those of the evangelist St Marc (see: The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great by Andrew Chugg)