23 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The identities of the occupants of the unspoiled 4th-century BCE Royal Tombs at Vergina in northern Greece have been identified

The identities of the occupants of the unspoiled 4th-century BCE Royal Tombs at Vergina in northern Greece have been identified. The burials contain the remains of Alexander’s father, stepmother, half-siblings, and son, along with armor and other items belonging to the man himself.

While there is never been any doubt that the human skeletal remains found in Royal Tombs I, II, and III belong to close relatives of Alexander, scholars have spent almost half a century bickering over who exactly lies within each grave.

The researchers examined the skeletal elements with the aid of macrophotography, radiographs, and anatomical dissection. The study authors combined osteological analyses, macro photography, X-rays, and anatomical dissections of the ancient remains with historical sources from the ancient past.

A knee fusion was found in the male skeleton of Tomb I consistent with the historic evidence of the lameness of King Philip II. Researchers also discovered that Tomb I contained the bones of a man with an injured knee, as well as a woman and a baby, who was just days or weeks old at the time of death.

They conclude that the male figure was Alexander the Great’s father, King Philip II of Macedon, who was known to limp. The infant’s extremely young age is also consistent with the story of Philip’s assassination in 336 BCE.

According to most sources, Philip II was assassinated by his bodyguard only a few days after his wife Cleopatra gave birth. The murder is thought to have been ordered by Philip’s previous wife, Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great. Almost immediately after the assassination, Olympias killed Cleopatra and her baby, possibly by burning them alive, paving the way for Alexander to succeed to the throne.

The burial urn containing the remains of King Philip II of Macedon. Photo: Wikipedia
The burial urn containing the remains of King Philip II of Macedon. Photo: Wikipedia

Previously, some scholars claimed that Philip II was buried in Tomb II, which also houses the remains of a man and a woman. However, the absence of a baby, combined with no obvious signs of physical trauma on the male skeleton, eliminates this possibility.

Researchers concluded that Tomb II belonged to the “warrior woman” Adea Eurydice, wife of Alexander’s half-brother King Arrhidaeus. They reached this conclusion based on skeletal evidence for excessive horseback riding.

“Due to ancient depictions and descriptions, some scholars have suggested that some of the objects in Tomb II, such as the armor, belonged to Alexander the Great, which is possible only if this is the Tomb of Arrhidaeus, not Philip II,” write the authors.

 Thus, these remains are determined to be those of “Alexander’s much less impressive brother” and his rather impressive warrior wife. Sources hint that this was an unequal marriage because the king was disabled mentally.

The evidence presented supports the conclusion that Tomb I belongs to King Philip II, his wife Cleopatra, and their newborn child. Tomb II belongs to King Arrhidaeus and his wife Adea Eurydice.

Lastly, the study’s authors discover no evidence to challenge the widely held belief that Alexander IV, Alexander the Great’s teenage son, is buried in Tomb III.

The study was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104279

Related Articles

New discoveries in Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe: A Human statue with a realistic facial expression found in Karahantepe

30 September 2023

30 September 2023

New finds were discovered in Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe. At around 12,000 years old, Göbekli Tepe is the world’s oldest megalithic...

Archaeologists discover 1200-year-old Wari temple complex in Peru

24 February 2023

24 February 2023

Archaeologists from the University of Illinois Chicago have uncovered a temple complex constructed by the Wari Empire 1,200 years ago...

Recent Excavations in Spain Reveal 7th Century BCE Religious Structure, Showcasing Eastern Influences within Tartessian Culture

18 February 2025

18 February 2025

A research team led by the National University of Distance Education (UNED) has made an important archaeological discovery at the...

Flint tools found in Tunel Wielki Cave, Poland, about half a million years old

9 October 2022

9 October 2022

Flint tools discovered over 50 years ago in the Tunel Wielki Cave (Maopolskie region) are not tens of thousands of...

Academics Uncover Ancient Roman Physicians Galen’s Pharmacy Legacy in İzmir

27 February 2024

27 February 2024

As a part of research on medicinal plants in Bergama, İzmir’s historic district where Galen (129 AD -200 AD) once...

Failed Mongol fleet may actually land in Japan after 800 years

18 July 2023

18 July 2023

A  recent shipwreck was found off the coast of Japan this year and identified as part of a Mongol fleet...

A Chapel was Found Under the Madonna Tal-Hniena Church in Qrendi, Malta

21 May 2021

21 May 2021

Underneath the Madonna Tal-Hniena church in the village of Qrendi in the south of Malta, the remains of an ancient...

Two unique mid-14th-century shipwrecks discovered in Sweden

22 April 2023

22 April 2023

During an archaeological dig in western Sweden this summer, the remains of two medieval merchant vessels known as cogs were...

Salvage Excavations Started in Giresun Island on Turkey’s Black Sea Coast

18 May 2021

18 May 2021

Rescue excavations are starting again on Giresun Island, where the first examples of human settlement in the Black Sea Region...

Derinkuyu: A Subterranean Marvel of Ancient Engineering with 18 Levels and Capacity for 20,000 Inhabitants

2 May 2025

2 May 2025

Beneath the sun-drenched plains of Cappadocia, where otherworldly “fairy chimney” rock formations pierce the sky, lies a secret world carved...

1,800-year-old Roman remains discovered in valley of eastern Turkey

21 February 2022

21 February 2022

Roman remains dating back 1800 years have been found in a valley in eastern Turkey. Among the Roman ruins found...

Ancient Yayoi Period Settlement Discovered on Tokyo Condo Development Site

10 December 2023

10 December 2023

Excavations at the former site of the British Embassy in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward have uncovered the remains of a Yayoi...

A Thousand-Year-Old Iron Age-old grave in Finland Is Ascribed to a Prominent Non-Binary Person

10 August 2021

10 August 2021

Archaeologists found a weapon grave in Finland’s Suontaka Vesitorninmäki in 1968. The remains discovered in the burial have been at...

Study Reveals Mysterious Avars Origin

1 April 2022

1 April 2022

Ruled much of Central and Eastern Europe for 250 years, the Avars were less well known than Attila’s Huns, but...

Jordan’s mysterious ancient wall “Khatt Shebib”

22 October 2022

22 October 2022

The accomplishments of ancient civilizations are typically woefully underappreciated because we stereotype them as primitives who only wore loincloths, and...