In today’s world people speak up often enough,
yet when it comes to archaeology we are generally left floating in a grey area
between wishful dreaming, wild theories and the bare reality. The media are
ever present and ready to blow up or tune down events in order to accommodate
and appeal to their readers. The hype around Amphipolis/Kasta Hill is no
exception and speculations have ran high – just look at all the ups and downs
reported earlier on my blog (simply go the link Amphipolis).
This being said, I’m extremely happy with the
latest comments made by Angeliki Kottaridou, archaeologist and head of the
Imathia Antiquities Ephorate. Here is, at last, somebody who separates facts
from figures in a professional way!
Quoting her from an article that was published
in Archaeology
News Network, this is what she has to say:
"The case
of Amphipolis showed us some sociological boundaries and what happens when you
consider a hypothesis a given case; the hypothesis that Alexander’s family is
there may be impressive to many people, but saying such a thing requires strong
evidence. When you do so and you cannot support it, then you have a problem,”
she said. "If I say that this tomb is the biggest one that exists and it
is not even a tomb but a natural hill, then I probably have a problem. This
means I cannot tell what I wish for from reality. When I find a big hole in the
grave, I know it's been tampered with or there is at least 95 percent
probability it has been tampered with. If for four months I tell reporters it
has not been tampered with and it has been so, then I have a problem. I do not
care what the political leadership says; I, as a scientist, have a problem."
The fact that she immediately rules out the
presence of Alexander the Great in
this tomb is indeed quite evident.
Thank you, Angeliki Kottaridou!
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