Friday 10th May 2024 – Edessa, Greece

 

I consider Vergina to be the best museum in Greece. I mentioned this to the guardian in the Macedonian cemetery yesterday and she said “Not the best in Greece, not the best in Europe – the best in the world”! She was very enthusiastic and very proud of Vergina and I must say that it takes some beating.
Manolis Andronikos was a dedicated archaeologist who was convinced that a hill in the modern village of Vergina was man-made and contained tombs. Although it was very close to the known Macedonian cemetery, most archaeologists didn’t believe that there were tombs below it. In 1977 Andronikos undertook a six-week dig of the tumulus and found not one tomb but four tombs, two of which were undisturbed. They were royal tombs and Andronikos became convinced that one of the tombs belonged to Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great. This is now accepted and the finds and the tombs are displayed under a roof in the reconstructed huge tumulus. And what finds they are! Philip’s tomb had not been plundered and objects are quite incredible – weapons, armour, gold, everyday objects and everything that one would need for a one-way trip to the underworld. If you are ever in the area, you must come to see these tombs and their contents. I don’t know of any other museum where one can see the actual tombs in their original position together with their contents. The design and presentation is first class. We were lucky to be visiting in the early season when the number of visitors was low, making it easy to walk around and view the exhibits.
We last came to Vergina two years ago and were disappointed to find that the new Museum of Aigai on the outskirts of the village was due to open later in that year. Now it was open and we were delighted to visit it. Being brand new, it was very well presented, spacious and everything labelled in Greek and English. This now seems to be standard and we are very lucky to be English! The museum has many finds from the Palace of Aigai and the Macedonian cemetery. The ticket for the Royal Tombs also covers the new museum and the Palace and Macedonian cemetery sites are free to visit.
Also on our visit in 2022, we attempted to visit the Macedonian tombs a few kilometres north of Vergina at Mieza but the Covid restrictions were still in place and they were not allowing anyone into the tombs because they were considered to be confined spaces that might result in the spread of the disease. This time we were able to visit the two tombs that are open to the public – The Tomb of the Judgement (4^th century BC) and the Tomb of the Palmettes (3^rd century BC). The state of preservation is excellent given that they are 2,300 years old.
On then to Edessa, a city that we haven’t visited before. Ancient Edessa is outside and below the main town and the site was closed by the time that we arrived. There are no campsites in the area but we had read in the Park4Night app that it is acceptable to wild camp in the lay-by opposite the site. We parked up with a great view over the site to the high cliffs on which the modern city stands.
Photos: I could post many photographs of the beautiful finds from Vergina but here are just a few – for more, see our previous visits by searching for Vergina. `Detail of ivory decorations from a funereal couch of the 3^rd century BC; A pair of greaves of uneven length, part of the evidence that proved that the tomb that they were found in was that of Philip of Macedon as he had a leg injury that gave him a limp; Philip’s gold quiver with exquisite decoration; The finds from Philip’s funeral pyre – it must have been a huge job to sort out the muddle of items; The ‘Prince’s Tomb’ (4^th century BC), very similar to that of Philip’s; A beautiful ivory carving of Dionysus from the funereal couch of Tomb III.