At last, the Palace of Aegae reopens to the public.

The opening date of the thoroughly restored Palace of Aegae has been set for May 2018.

The project was started in 2007 and after encouraging updates in 2012 (see: The latest news about the Palace of Aegae) and in 2016 (see: The Royal Palace of Vergina to reopen soon) the true splendor of Philip’s royal palace will be revealed very soon now.

[Picture from Archaeology News Network]

It has taken stonemasons countless hours to patiently reassemble almost thirty columns belonging to the palace’s courtyard and façade. The peristyle promises to be exceptionally spectacular since sixteen columns and the frieze on the south side have been reconstructed to a height of eight meters offering a unique picture of the palace.

Overall, the walls of the palace have been restored to a height of 1.6 meters, which will help us to mentally recreate the feeling of the interior. Moreover, the mosaics that have not yet been moved to the nearby museum will remain in situ. They include besides the simpler patterns, the mythological rape of Europa and several scenes of nature. It remains uncertain whether the grand round mosaic floor of the Tholos at the Palace entrance will be exposed to daylight also.

Using ancient techniques, craftsmen have hand-cut a huge number of blocks measuring on average 100x70x50 centimeters to shore up the palace foundations.

It is most unfortunate that many of the original blocks as exposed by the French excavators in the 19^th century have been reused by local settlers since – a current practice in those days.

Yet, enough remains of the Palace’s upper floor that ran over the entire length of the entrance (the so-called Propylon) have been moved to the Museum of Vergina to reconstruct a 30-meter section of the colonnade. This reconstruction and more will be made available to the visitors in another two years’ time (2020).

Please read an update on the opening of the Palace in The Palace of Aegae in full glory.