In 2017, the year in the world of archeology is to some extent significant, because exactly 65 years ago, scientists first tried to uncover the secret of the Great Mound in Vergina, in Northern Greece. It should be noted that the burial mound is surrounded by a vast "cemetery" of smaller burial mounds, excavations in which made it possible to establish that the burials located there date back to 1000, and the most ancient ones date back to the end of the Hellenistic era.
Entrance to the tomb # 2.
In 1962-1963, archaeologists made several soundings in order to find burials, which, according to their calculations, lay under the largest of the hills. Unfortunately, the attempts of the researchers did not have the desired success. However, they found several gravestones. Good luck came to them in 1976. It was possible to prove that the first capital of the rulers of Macedonia, Aegi, was located precisely in the area of today's Vergina, as the historian from England Niklas Hammond had suggested a few years earlier; hence the conclusion that the burials of the rulers of Macedonia, who were buried in Aegus, following the ancestral customs, were to be searched here; that there is a high probability that the Great Mound in Vergina is a royal tomb and contains the tombs of kings or a king. If so, the excavations here could become promising, since there was a possibility of finding the tsar's burial, the first of the burials that would not have suffered at the hands of ancient robbers.
At the end of August 1977, scientists began new excavations. The results were not long in coming. By October, researchers had found three rooms. Also, archaeologists managed to get closer to the absolutely untouched royal tomb. The dimensions of the tomb were found to be approximately 10 meters by 5.5 meters, and the height was about six meters.
The door to the royal tomb.
One of the three found premises turned out to be the "Sanctuary of Heroes", which, unfortunately, was destroyed. The first tomb was rectangular, measuring 3 by 2, 09 meters, and 3 meters high. As it turned out, the dead were buried through a hole in the ceiling of the tomb, since there was no entrance to the tomb. The hole was closed by an oblong stone of enormous size. With regret, scientists were forced to state that this tomb was plundered in ancient times by treasure seekers. According to the few remaining finds, it could be attributed to the middle of the 4th century. BC BC, presumably 340 BC. NS. The walls of the tomb were painted, the famous scene of the abduction of Persephone by Pluto was depicted. The skill with which this work is performed is simply amazing. This wonderful work is depicted on a plane with dimensions of 3.5 meters and a height of 1 meter. The deity of the underworld is depicted in a chariot. A scepter and a bridle can be seen in his right hand, while with his left he hugs the waist of a young goddess, who in despair is wringing her hands. The way the creator portrayed a young girl in a moment of complete despair is simply amazing. Also depicted is the god Hermes, who shows the chariot the way to Hades. Behind is Persiphona's girlfriend, possibly Kiana. On the ground, you can see flowers, only plucked by girls.
As it turned out later, before the start of work, the sketches were made on plaster. From this, it can be done that the master created in a free manner and was fluent in the drawing technique. The incredible amount of colors used by the artist is striking. All this creates an image that remains in the memory of the one who saw it for a long time.
Thanks to the painstaking work of the restorers, this drawing has come down to us in excellent condition. Based on the data of ancient historians, we can conclude that the author of this beautiful work is the painter Nikomakh, who lived in the middle of the 4th century. BC NS.
Unfortunately, the images on the other walls have not reached us in such good condition. On one of the walls a goddess was depicted, presumably Dimetra. There were also found on the east wall, three images in satisfactory condition. Perhaps there are three Parks.
To the northwest of this tomb, archaeologists have discovered the so-called "Macedonian Tomb" (Tomb II), which is a large chamber with a vaulted ceiling. As you know, before that, all the Macedonian burials that archaeologists met were, unfortunately, plundered by treasure seekers. Therefore, there was a possibility that this burial was also looted. With trepidation in my heart, the clearing of the facade of the tomb began. On the wall was found a drawing of huge dimensions 5, 56 m in length and 1, 16 m in height, occupied the entire width of the facade. The plot for him was a hunting scene.
Section of the tomb of King Philip.
It was clear that the thieves had tried many times to open the door of the tomb, and the scientists, on reflection, decided to dig in the center of the facade. After clearing the ground, a large double-leaf marble door appeared before them, on which there were no signs of breaking! By all indications, this tomb belonged to a noble person. In addition, the size of the Big Kurgan suggested that this was a royal burial site, and the shards found in front of the façade dated it to around 340 BC. NS.
Since it was impossible to get through the huge marble door and not damage the facade, the researchers decided to remove some slab and enter the tomb using the "tomb robbers" method. The tomb was opened on November 8, 1977. To the delight of archaeologists, the tomb was left untouched. The remains of wooden furniture immediately caught the eye; on both sides of the tomb were found perfectly preserved objects made of metal: on the left - vessels made of silver, on the right - utensils and weapons made of bronze and iron. As it turned out, there is also a second room, which was separated from the central huge door, also made of marble. After the initial inspection, it turned out that its facade was also intact. A marble sarcophagus with a rectangular shape stood against one of the walls. The researchers guessed that there might be a vessel with ashes inside. Also in the southwestern part of the room were found: a pair of large bronze goblets, bowls, a vessel and a tripod made of bronze. A container with holes made in it attracted special attention. This subject has already been encountered by researchers many times, but no one could determine - what was it for? After the insides of this vessel were examined, it turned out that it was only a lamp.
Reconstruction of the tomb of King Philip.
A truly unique item was discovered against one of the walls. An object that looked like a bronze shield rested peacefully against the wall. Iron knee pads and a helmet were discovered nearby - the only iron helmet of the time that archaeologists have ever held in their hands. But back to the shield. Initially, they believed that this item could not be a shield, since it did not have a handcuff or similar attributes. As it turned out later, it was … a shield case. Later, a team of Greek restorers restored the shield itself. It turned out that its edges were decorated with ivory ornaments. The central part turned out to be covered with gilding with carved figures of a man and a woman in a height of 0.35 m.
"The Carapace of King Philip".
A little further away lay the second unique piece of equipment of the Macedonians - an iron shell. In its form, it was similar to the armor of Alexander the Great, known to us from the fresco from Naples. It was made of five plates, the shoulder pads were made of four additional plates. On the front side were six lion heads, made of gold, which were used as clasps for the leather strap that connected the front and the shoulder pads of the carapace. This find is considered even more unique than the shield. But the most important thing is that from these three outstanding finds, scientists concluded that not just a king is buried in the tomb, but an extremely powerful ruler and a highly cultured person.
The remains of furniture found in front of the sarcophagus may have belonged to an ornate bed. In the process of restoration, scientists were able to create an external image of the product. As it turned out, the bed had a border consisting of mythical characters and sculptures of miniature people made of ivory. One of these figures depicted a bearded man of mature age. Most likely it was King Philip himself - the father of the great Alexander the Great. The majestic and at the same time slightly weary features of the king with an imperceptible but unambiguous indication of the blinded right eye was surprisingly exactly similar to the portrait sketch of the ruler, which was found on the medallion made of gold and dating back to the Roman period. The medallion was discovered in the city of Tarsus. The second head depicted Alexander the Great, and the third depicted his mother Olympias. All these images were created by a master with a capital letter. Each of them has its own individual characteristics, which further testifies to the skill of the person who made them. Each ivory head is a unique piece of art. They can be attributed to the IV century. BC. and they are all prime examples of early Greek sculptural portraiture.
After the restoration work, it was possible to obtain information about how the legs of the bed looked. As it turned out, they were decorated with palmettes and ornaments made of glass and ivory inserts. In addition to the artistic value of the finds from the tomb, historians and archaeologists were able to get acquainted with the technique of classical Hellenism, about which we do not have a very complete idea. The biggest mystery was a marble sarcophagus in which the researchers hoped to find an urn with the remains of the cremation. After opening, archaeologists discovered a large square-shaped golden box. It featured a multi-rayed star, which was also painted on Macedonian money and shields.
After the vessel was opened, at the very bottom, human bones were found in perfect condition. They were dyed blue, and there was also a trace of the purple fabric in which they were wrapped. A luxurious golden crown of gold, oak leaves and acorns was also found. Unfortunately, this creation was deformed. But now, when it has been restored in all its splendor, this is one of the most valuable finds that antiquity gave us.
A vessel made of gold and the remains found in it literally make the scene of Hector's funeral come to mind in one of the final songs of “Iliad”. The found burial is exactly like this scene from the poem. This is the first time archaeologists have held something like this in their hands.
After these unique finds went to the city of Thessaloniki to the Museum of Archeology, scientists had to decide how to open the adjacent chamber. The entrance door, made of marble, was not possible to open, as there was a possibility of damaging the unique treasures lying there. There was only one option - to remove the stone from the left wall and the right one on the right side of the door. It was very difficult to do this. At the same time, scientists did not hope to find any valuable things inside. According to the researchers, there must have been remains of ceramics and murals, which were supposed to help archaeologists establish the exact dating of this tomb.
Diadem of leaves and acorns.
After the hole was made in the wall, the archaeologists were in for real surprises. Another marble tomb stood against one of the walls, its dimensions were slightly larger than the one that scientists discovered earlier. A wreath of gold lay on the floor of the tomb. Finding it was a real little miracle, as it was covered with a piece of plaster. Thanks to the painstaking work of the restorer D. Matios, whose hands gave new life not only to this masterpiece, but also to many other finds from this tomb, today we can look at this beautiful wreath that we inherited from the ancient era.
