Royal Tombs Of Alexander The Great’s Family At Vergina, Greece Finally Identified

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - Admired or hated, it is fair to say that no one was indifferent to Alexander the Great, who is today recognized as one of the greatest military figures of all time. Alexander the Great, the king of the Greek kingdom of Macedon, shaped world history through his conquests.

Ancient Macedonian tomb of King Philip II at Vergina in Greece. Credit: Adobe Stock - Panos

Alexander the Great was born in 356 B.C. in Pella, a region of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia. He was the son of King Philip II of Macedon and Queen Olympia, daughter of King Neoptolemus. He succeeded his father, King Philip II, to the throne at the age of twenty.

"Alexander was born on the sixth day of the month Hecatombaeon, which the Macedonians call Lous, the same day on which the temple of Artemis at Ephesus was burned down," Plutarch wrote. Some considered this to be a sign something extraordinary had happened, while a few shrugged, saying it was merely a strange historical coincidence.

The location of Alexander the Great's tomb remains an enduring mystery, but scientists have finally identified the burials of his family at Vergina, in northern Greece.

Scientists say they have identified the human skeletons buried in the unspoiled 4th-century B.C. Royal Tomb and there is no doubt the remains belong to the legendary Macedonian king's family.

The so-called "Great Tumulus" in the vast necropolis of Aegae at Vergina, where the Royal tombs are located, has long been regarded as a unique case in Greek archaeology because they may be the final resting place associated with important historical figures.

The Great Tumulus contains three significant tombs called Royal Tombs I, II, and III, but to whom they belong has never been determined, at least not until now.

It was previously speculated that King Philip II would have required cremation, not inhumation, because of his status.

"This claim is based on a mistranslation of Kottaridi of the passage of Diodorus. However, there is no literary evidence (contemporaneous to Philip II) that Philip II was cremated.

Further, there is no evidence of such a rule among royal Macedonians: We have so many burials that might be royal but have no inscriptions to verify this. Until we know which tomb is royal and which is not, it is hard to say if cremation was always the case for kings in the years of Philip II and Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great was not cremated, and there are certainly tombs in Macedonia that include both inhumation and cremation burials," the scientists write in their study. ¹

To unravel the mystery, a team of scientists from Greece, Spain, and the U.S. analyzed the skeletal remains and reviewed available archaeological and historical data. The results of intensive studies show the male remains in Tomb I do belong to Alexander the Great's father, King Philip II. In the same tomb, there is also a skeleton of a woman and a small child. Researchers have concluded this is his wife Cleopatra and their newborn child. Philip I had several wives. Together with Cleopatra, he had two children, Europa and Caranus, who was just a newborn when Philip was assassinated.

"What we know from the literary sources is that Cleopatra’s baby was born a few days before Philip’s assassination, according to Diodorus. Olympias murdered Cleopatra and her baby
immediately after Philip’s assassination and Alexander’s election as a new king." ²

In the Royal Tomb II, there were remains of a male and a female. Scientists concluded the skeletons belonged to Alexander the Great's half-brother, King Arrhidaeus, and his wife, Adea Eurydice. The research team is also convinced Tomb III is the burial of Alexander the Great's son, Alexander IV, who was only 13 years old when he and his mother were murdered.

Phillip II, king of Macedonia, Roman copy of Greek original, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Credit: Richard Mortel - CC BY 2.0

We have focused "on the scientific facts and historical evidence that impacts acceptance or rejection of the location of King Philip II of Macedonia in Royal Tomb I or Tomb II in Vergina. We have provided compelling evidence from multiple sources that shows conclusively that Philip II was buried in Tomb I in Vergina and that Tomb II contained Arrhidaeus and Eurydice.

We evaluated the hypothesis of Philip II in Tomb II and demonstrated why it cannot be supported, based on a full review of the available evidence. Our hypothesis of Philip II in Tomb I remains unchallenged in peer-reviewed literature, and we believe the available evidence is conclusive," the researchers write in their study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer