The Gold of Macedon. Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki

As an exception, I am including this booklet about the gold collection from Macedonia which is an important section of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (The Gold of Macedon, ISBN 978-960-214-269-1).

Not only is this booklet a very useful tool while visiting this grand collection but it also provides a clear insight into the technology and use of gold, especially in the wake of Alexander’s conquests that triggered the circulation of huge amounts of this precious metal in the ancient world.

Of course, the presence of gold was known throughout the Mediterranean from early antiquity onward and, as a start, the museum as well as the book present a very useful map of the main gold mines. This is followed by an overview of the various uses for gold, from jewelry and coins to pure decorative items.

The third chapter is treating the technology involved from its mining, to the array of techniques developed in creating gold objects and in the process of gilding. Several examples are given, including drawings to illustrate the complexity of handling this malleable ore with splendid detailed photographs.

The booklet and the exhibition ends with the immense richness of the Macedonian cemeteries. Besides functional objects, there is a true wealth in artifacts that accompanied the dead into the afterlife no matter whether they were interred in simple pit-graves, cist-graves, or in elaborated tombs and sarcophagi. Noteworthy is the Macedonian cemeteries of Sindos (121 graves), Pydna (some 2,500 graves), Aghia Paraskevi about 500 burials), Nea Philadelphia (180 graves), Katerini, Aenea, Lete, Stavroupolis, Europos, Cassandreia, etc. But the major part of this collection comes from the Derveni cemeteries, northwest of Thessaloniki which yielded countless refined objects among which the world-famous Derveni Crater occupies a place of honor (part of Tomb B that yielded over one hundred objects alone).

This booklet not only provides an extremely useful insight into the exquisite artwork produced by the craftsmen of the 4^th and 3^rd centuries BC but it also gives an exceptional view of the wealth available after Alexander’s death.