“The Amphipolis tomb was looted at least once and remained open and exposed after its looting for a large period of time.” So said Panagiotis Faklaris, a professor of classical archaeology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in an interview with TheToc.gr. However, he added, that does not meant that important discoveries will not be made.
Mr Faklaris has extensive experience of similar excavations, having worked for 36 years on digs in Vergina. He was also part of the team that excavated the untouched Macedonian tombs of the Great Tumulus of Vergina, one of which is widely believed to have been the final resting place of Phillip II, Alexander the Great’s father.
The archaeology professor agrees with the view put forward by the head of the Amphipolis dig, Katerina Peristeri, that the tomb dates from about the end of the 4th century BC, although adds that this could come down to the beginning of the 3rd century.
With regards to the identity of the individual is interred Mr Faklaris believes that it is likely to have belonged to a war veteran close to Alexander himself. “The monument agrees with the dating of the other Macedonian tombs - that is the tombs of the Macedonian veterans of war who returned from the campaign of Alexander the Great.”
A tomb of one of Alexander’s generals?
Mr Faklaris stated that according to the available evidence, the Amphipolis tombs together with other tombs, are the grandest tombs belonging to high-ranking officers of Alexander the Great’s army, who returned from the campaign with great wealth from the spoils of the war. “That is my conclusion based on my excavation of Macedonian tombs, and from all that I have read, I have seen, I have studied,” he said.
Extensive looting
Mr Faklaris however believes that there is little hope of uncovering golden or other valuable artifacts in the tomb as he sees extensive evidence of looting.
“The available evidence leads to the conclusion that the tomb has been looted at least once, and it appears a second time, and the grave-robbers have removed materials from inside. They have destroyed artifacts, they have hit and damaged the statues, the Sphinxes, the Karyatids. An indication of the looting is that the decorative carvings have been worn away in front of the Sphinxes and the road. That means that the tomb was exposed, open after the looting for a considerable period. There has been interference, the tomb has been looted.”
Yet another indication of the activity of the tomb raiders, according to Mr Faklaris, is the large amount of dirt in the interior of the tomb. “The dirt entered from the openings left by the looters. For a considerable time period dirt entered the monument together with water. That is why it is in layers. It is clear: what do the openings in the wall show? That grave robbers passed through there. They violated the walls which were there to protect the tomb from looters, they broke in and entered.”
Even if Mr Faklaris is correct, however, that does not mean that the archaeologist may not make important finds when they succeed in entering the inner chambers. “It means that valuable artifacts that within the monument may not be found. However we may find remains of the furniture that existed, marble thrones or something else. Certainly some things will be found. Perhaps some fragments of weapons if they were made of iron which the grave robbers were not interested in taking. In all of the Macedonian graves some artifacts are found. And that is enlightening, of course.”
Will inscriptions shed light on the identity of the deceased?
Mr Faklaris does not rule out the possibility that inscriptions or other discoveries may reveal who is (or was) buried in the tomb.
“If we do not find an inscription or a ring with the seal of the deceased, we won’t be able to say anything about the person inside the tomb.”
Are inscriptions often found in Macedonian tombs?
“In one grave in Lefkadia, an inscription was found bearing the names of 18 people. With the surname, and with the name of the husband in the cases when the deceased was a woman… The examples of inscriptions can be counted on one’s fingers, but they exist in Macedonian tombs.”
How many chambers does he expect there to be in the tomb?
“Logically behind the Karyatids which are the face of the monument there is one room and then another. If there are other chambers, that will be unusual for a Macedonian tomb.
The debate about the dating of the tomb is healthy
When asked about the debate that has broken out between archaeologists regarding the dating of the tomb Mr Faklaris characterized such clashes of ideas as ‘healthy’. “If all opinions agree then something is wrong,” he said, adding, “All of these comments that we on the ‘outside' make are sometimes to the detriment of the excavation and the excavator. We must have all of the evidence from the excavation to have a scientific discussion.”
Just how long such debates can go on is indicated by Mr Faklaris’s own view about another grave: the unlooted tomb in Vergina widely believed to belong to Phillip II. The archaeologist belongs in the camp that doubts this interpretation. “The issue is still open because the evidence that exists does not lead to Phillip, in my opinion,” he says. “But that is not our issue, that is a big topic, a big problem which can be discussed at some other time. But based on the evidence I am aware of, as such, the tomb in Vergina is not a royal tomb and has wrongly been attributed to Phillip II.”
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