Owner of the Tomb of Vergina still questioned

Historical events are gladly twisted and turned to make an interesting or commercially profitable story. Some or even many of these tales can stay alive for years, even centuries. 

The most absurd theory is about Alexander being buried in Macedonia and not in Egypt. The other recurring discussion is about the Tomb in Vergina that has been attributed to Philip II, Alexander’s father, by Manolis Andronicos in 1977 (see: Vergina, The Royal Tombs by Manolis Andronicos).

[Picture Credit: A. Bartsiokas]

The next best candidate for the Tomb of Vergina is Philip III Arrhideus, as discussed in my post Questioning the Tomb of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, in November 2009, and Philip’s Tomb at Vergina, is it or is it not in January 2016. This last one is based on studies by Antonis Bartsiokas, Democritus, University of Thrace, Komotini, who worked on the Vergina tombs. 

Only recently, a sacred purple-dyed cotton chiton of Alexander has been discovered in the golden larnax of Tomb II, thought to be Philip’s. 

This garment is most remarkable because cotton was first introduced to the Macedonians when they reached India in 327 BC. According to Antonis Bartsiokas, the tunic matches the description of a ceremonial outfit, a sarapis, as worn by King Darius and later adopted by Alexander. A closer analysis revealed the presence of huntite, a bright white mineral uncommon in Greece but used in ancient Persia, between the layers of cotton. These white stripes are also seen in Alexander’s outfit as depicted in the fresco above the entrance door of what is supposedly Philip’s tomb. This, the author says, strengthens his theory that this sarapis is “the same one that Alexander would have worn in official ceremonies”. 

[Picture Credit: A. Bartsiokas]

Why this fabric suddenly appears inside the larnax is puzzling, to say the least, since the cremated bones and a large gold wreath of oak leaves and acorns were removed years ago.

Why the chiton is linked to the image of a juvenile Alexander in the fresco of the tomb is not exactly in line with Alexander as King of Persia wearing a cotton chiton with traces of huntite.

And why can we be sure this sarapis is the one Alexander wore and not Philip III Arrhideus, as he too became King of Kings? 

Presently, Antonis Bartsiokas also states “that many objects found in Tomb II actually belonged to Alexander the Great,” including a golden diadem, a scepter, and the earlier mentioned oak wreath. Here, Philip II is not even mentioned! This would imply that Andronicos had it all wrong. Of course, this is history in the making, and new discoveries and interpretations surface time and again. 

We’ll see…

A solid gold bust of Septimius Severus

Gold, like bronze and silver, is a commodity that over the centuries was melted down time and again by whoever possessed the precious mineral and wanted to transform it for his own use. This is why large bronze statues are so rare and the examples we have in our museums these days generally come from underwater archaeology where they were hidden from view. Large gold objects are even more rare.

[Picture from Gareth Harney on Twitter]

This brings me to this solid bust of Emperor Septimius Severus made end 2^nd/beginning 3^rd century AD. It was found in 1965 among the ruins of ancient Plotinopolis, a city founded in the early 2^nd century by Emperor Trajan who named it after his wife Pompeia Plotina. Plotinopolis was actually built on top of the Thracian and Hellenistic town of Didymoteicho which the Romans sacked in 204 BC.

The city was ideally located on the banks of the Bulgarian Maritsa River that becomes the Evros River when it enters eastern Greece. The surrounding plain was very fertile and controlled a branch of the Via Egnatia.

Today Plotinopolis is called Kale after the Turkish word for castle as it lies south of Edirne, Turkey although only 20 km north of Soufli in the Thracian Province of Greece.

The magnificent gold bust of Septimius Severus can be admired at the Archaeological Museum of nearby Komotini – certainly worth the detour!