Evrim Yazgin
Cosmos science journalist
A team of archaeologists, biologists, chemists and historians has put to rest the suggestion that a tomb found in 1977 belonged to Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great.
The Great Tumulus of Vergina – a cluster of tombs, some dating to more than 3,000 years ago – are about 300km northwest of Athens. The site was once Aigai (also spelt Aegae), the ancient first capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia.
One of the crypts, known as the “Tomb of Persephone” due to its depictions of the queen of the underworld, was believed to belong to Philip II after anthropologists found a male skeleton with an injured leg bone, consistent with historical records of a wound sustained by the Macedonian King.
It was also thought that the remains of Philip’s seventh wife, Cleopatra Eurydice, and newly born son were buried with him.
The Kingdom of Macedonia under Philip II’s reign had relative internal stability and had gained domination over the Greek kingdoms through military muscle and diplomacy.
Philip II was assassinated by a royal bodyguard in 336 BCE at the age of 46 and was succeeded by his son Alexander the Great.
It has generally been thought Phillip II was buried in this tomb, but the story unravelled when the authors of the new study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, used different techniques to analyse the remains.
The remains were actually of a much younger man, between the ages of 25 and 35 when he died. Isotopic analysis suggests the man spent his childhood away from Aigai and Pella where Philip is known to have lived.
Both adult remains were buried decades before Philip and Cleopatra died. The adult female remains were buried between 389 and 351 BCE.
Similarly, the infant’s body is not Philip’s child. The infant remains date to more than 2 centuries later, between 150 BCE and 130 CE.
“Previous suggestions that the skeletal remains belong to Philip II, his wife Cleopatra and newborn child are not scientifically sustainable,” the authors write.
But the entombed individuals were probably highly influential.
“The male occupant was most likely an important Macedonian royal of the Argead/Temenid house who died in the period 388–356 BCE and was probably honoured or worshipped in the shrine above and entombed likely together with a female,” the authors add.
