HISTORY
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY + HEALTH
After years of debate, archaeologists say they have gained greater understanding of “among the most historically important” human remains in Europe—belonging to the family of Alexander the Great
JAW BONES, SOME TEETH, SKULL FRAGMENTS, arm and leg bones, and a few artifacts were about all they had to work with. But after decades of study, archaeologists say they understand more about the skeletal remains belonging to the father, the half-brother and the son of Alexander the Great, ruler of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.
The remains are considered by archaeologists to be “among the most historically important” in Europe.
During his reign from 336 B.C. until his death in 323 B.C., legendary leader Alexander waged extensive military campaigns to create one of the largest empires ever seen—spanning from Greece to northwestern India. Undefeated in battle, he is widely considered to be among the most successful military commanders in history.
The whereabouts of Alexander’s burial site is one of the greatest enduring mysteries of the ancient world. Historical accounts indicate that the ruler was initially buried in Memphis, Egypt, just south of Cairo, before the remains were moved to Alexandria. But the subsequent history of his tomb is unclear, and its exact location remains unknown.
The remains of his family members, however, shed new light on his story. In the latest study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, researchers examined skeletal remains found in the so-called “Great Tumulus” in the vast necropolis of Aegae—located at Vergina in northern Greece. The Great Tumulus is one of four clusters of royal Macedonian tombs at the first capital of ancient Macedon. They date to different periods and are covered by tumuli—mounds of earth and stone raised over graves.
The Great Tumulus contains three significant tombs (called Royal Tombs I, II and III) that are thought to date to around the late 4th century B.C. But there has been a long-running debate among scholars over the identities of the occupants.
“ This is a unique case in Greek archaeology of tombs that may be associated with important historical figures,” the authors of the latest study wrote in the paper.
The debate “could not be solved by archaeology alone and could only be solved by physical anthropology,” Antonis Bartsiokas, lead author of the study with the Department of History and Ethnology at the Democritus University of Thrace in Greece, told Newsweek. “As a paleoanthropologist, I thought I could solve this intriguing puzzle.”
The royal tom
