Saturday 16th April 2022 – Vergina, Greece

 

The tomb of Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, is one of the greatest discoveries of modern archaeology. In 1977 Manolis Andronikos discovered tomb that had not been plundered and contained amazing treasures. A massive tumulus covered a number of Macedonian tombs that have been left in their original positions, now in a building covered with soil to resemble a much lower version of the tumulus. Inside under very low light (so low that you have to stand for a moment to let your eyes adjust) you can see the original paint on tomb stones and the Macedonian tombs themselves. In between the tombs there are fantastic displays of the treasures from the tombs, wonderfully lit and labelled. We felt very lucky to be able to see these wonderful finds when the museum was so quiet. Later in the season it would be a real fight to get close to the major exhibits such as the solid gold larnax (chest) that contained Philip’s remains wrapped in purple cloth and the gold wreath above it. But it isn’t just gold bling, there are so many fascinating exhibits, some of which I have shown below.
Long before Andronikos’s discovery, Vergina was known as a royal cemetery and there are literally thousands of graves in the land around, royal and otherwise, many of which haven’t been excavated. We walked around the village looking at Macedonian tombs in the main cemetery field but couldn’t visit all of them because the area was ‘dangerous’. This is the time when snakes are emerging after their hibernation and are less likely to avoid humans and their venom is especially deadly. We were able to visit the theatre but the palace complex was closed. I asked when it would be open again and was informed that “it will be open” – not very helpful without any timescale. Fortunately, we had seen it many years ago before the museum was even built. And, talking of museums, there is a massive new museum on the outskirts of the village and we were looking forward to seeing it. Unfortunately, we were told that the Polycentric Museum of Aigai will not open until June this year (possibly!). Given that ‘aigai’ means ‘goats’ in ancient Greek, it might be an agricultural museum but I think that it will house more finds from Vergina and tell more about Philip II and Alexander the Great.
We had a late lunch and, after a wander around the village, had a coffee and baklava, our first of the holiday and they were enormous portions.

Photos: Tomb II at Vergina – thought to be that of Philip II of Macedon (or was it tomb I – still a matter of controversy!); Detail of the gold myrtle wreath from tomb II; Silver wine jug with head of Silenus from tomb II; Silver wine cup with the face of a drunken Silenus also from tomb II; Ivory and gold decoration from a couch in tomb III; The theatre of Aigai where Philip II was assassinated in 336 BC.