17 April 2009 | Details on the artefacts discovered in a tomb during excavations by Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University, AUTH, at the Vergina archaeological in northern Greece were recently presented in the university.

The presentation took place in the Old Philosophy School building during the scientific meeting on archaeological work conducted in the Macedonia and Thrace provinces.

The findings, according to the www.ana-mpa.gr website, include a cylindrical container made of gold, used for holding the bones of the dead, inside of which archaeologists found a gold, oak-leaf wreath.

The gold container, which was found inside a bronze vessel and dates to the end of the fourth century BC, is described as “unique in terms of its size, the material from which it was made and its use,” and most probably belonged to an aristocrat, the publication wrote.

A similar golden larnax, or container, with the Sun of Vergina on its top, which also dates to the fourth century BC and held the bones from the burial of King Philip II of Macedon, along with a golden wreath, were found during excavations in the 1980s and 1990s (in the photograph above). Initially displayed at the Archaeological Museum in Thessaloniki, since 1997 it has been exhibited at the underground museum stage of Vergina, inside the Great Tumulus.

Vergina is a small town in northern Greece, located in the prefecture of Imathia, Central Macedonia. The town became internationally famous in 1977, when Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos unearthed what he claimed was the burial site of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. The finds established the site as the ancient Aigai, which was once the royal capital of ancient Macedon, ruled by the Argead dynasty from about 650 BC onwards.

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