Discovered: Eight Rooms With a View...Towards History

Archaeologists Find Massive Tomb in Greece

Feb 12 7:28 PM US/Eastern
By COSTAS KANTOURIS
Associated Press Writer

THESSALONIKI, Greece

Archaeologists have unearthed a massive tomb in the northern Greek town of Pella, capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia and birthplace of Alexander the Great.

The eight-chambered tomb dates to the Hellenistic Age between the fourth and second century B.C., and is the largest of its kind ever found in Greece. The biggest multichambered tombs until now contained three chambers.

The 678-square-foot tomb hewn out of rock was discovered by a farmer plowing his field on the eastern edge of the ancient cemetery of Pella, some 370 miles north of Athens, archaeologists said.

"This is the largest and most monumental tomb of its kind ever found in Greece," said Maria Akamati, who led the excavations.

Archaeologists believe the tomb _ filled with dozens of votive clay pots and idols, copper coins and jewelry _ will shed light on the culture of Macedonia in the period that followed Alexander's conquest of Asia.

Alexander's empire, which stretched from Greece to Asia, broke into separate kingdoms upon his death in 323 B.C., as his generals battled over the remains of the ancient world's greatest empire.

Similar tombs from the same era have been discovered on Crete, Cyprus and Egypt, which was ruled by a Greek dynasty founded by Ptolemy, Alexander's general.

The tomb's size suggests it belonged to a a wealthy Macedonian family, Akamati said.

I am always amazed when something like this occurs. Just when you think that there are no new discoveries to be made, especially in a heavily occupied country like Greece. This is a really exciting thing (if you are as interested in archeology as I am). It will be interesting to see what new artwork and statuary they find. They may even find some scrolls and stuff like that.

Well...I care even if you don't and this is my blog. So there!

Full Story: What's A Grecian Urn?

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