The archaeologists excavating the tomb uncovered in the Kasta mound or ‘tumulus’ took a much deserved break on Sunday, with work resuming as normal today.
The excavators are continuing to explore the trench discovered underneath the limestone floor of the third chamber. The archaeologists are also searching for additional clues to the nature of the tomb in the third chamber.
While hopes remain that the tomb will yield at least some additional finds, it is clear that the first phase of the excavation of the tomb is coming to an end. With the excitement around the tomb beginning to die down, the Ministry of Culture is now evaluating the future of excavation works in the Kasta mound.
Is the mound actually a giant burial complex?
One hypothesis is that the tomb currently being excavated is not the only one in the large manmade mound that has a total circumference of 500 meters.
While the large burial tomb has captured the public’s attention in recent weeks, the idea that the mound is actually a burial complex of multiple tombs is not new, having been floated long before the tomb currently being excavated was first discovered on the 10th of August.
A brief history of the Amphipolis excavation
The mound was initially explored by the Archaeologist Dimitris Lazaridis who discovered a number of unlooted graves dating from the Iron Age on the surface of the mound. Lazaridis's work provided key finds, however he focused only on the top part of the mound. In 2012, led by Katerina Peristeri (the head of the current Amphipolis dig) a team archaeologists revisited the mound and uncovered a marble perimeter wall extending all the way around the circular hill (Lazridis himself had discoverd a part of the wall but was unable at the time to excavate it). The area encircled by the wall is about 5 acres, rendering the mound the largest burial mound ever discovered in Greece.
On the south side of the mound, the grand Sphinx-guarded entrance to the three-chambered tomb currently being explored was discovered in early August.
It has also been revealed the famous Lion of Amphipolis also once stood atop the peak of the turmulus. Given this splendor and the size of the mound, even to a layperson it would seem likely that the mound contains further secrets waiting to be discovered.
Kasta Tumulus to be 'scanned'
Sources from within the Ministry of Culture state that archaeologists will continue to explore the mound in the hopes of uncovering one or more additional tombs.
Specifically there are plans to ‘scan’ the burial mound for additional evidence of man-made constructions. The work will include geological and other surveys and will be conducted in cooperation with teams from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
A similar survey had previously been conducted in 1998 although the results from that work were inconclusive. Now the hope is that a more detailed survey with new state-of-the-art technologies will reveal new promising sites for excavation.
Thus remains the tantalizing prospect that tombs similar to – or perhaps even grander than the one currently being explored – may come to light.
At the same time archaeologists will continue to pore over the uncovered tomb in an attempt to reveal its secrets, the most obvious being: who was the tomb built for?
The Ministry of Culture is also planning to move ahead with plans to make the Amphipolis tomb that has already made international headlines accessible to the public. Even as archaeologist scour the rest of the mound for additional monuments, the Ministry has stated that it will conduct surveys to determine how best to support and protect the excavated tomb.
Speaking recently to TheTOC.gr a Ministry source stated that, “International tenders must be conducted to explore in a scientific way how it will be restored and how it will be opened to the public.”
The feeling is that the ministry has already invested too much money and resources in the Amphipolis tomb to leave it unexploited. Furthermore with the international attention that it has already garnered, there is the obvious desire to turn the monument into a significant tourist attraction - one that will be a valuable boost to the area which is suffering from particularly high unemployment.
Even by itself the tomb that has already been uncovered is an unprecedented find. Yet the hope is that future work will yield further exciting discoveries, rendering the Kasta mound an archaeological gift that keeps on giving.
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