‘Discovery’ of Alexander the Great’s sacred tunic reopens ancient Greece’s great archaeological controversy

Controversy particularly revolves around Tomb II, which has two opposing and stable streams. This burial, the official says, is the best preserved from the classical period in all of Greece – it contained two small golden coffins, a magnificent gold crown decorated with oak leaves and acorns or an impressive warrior Panoply – king. Is of. philip iifather of Alexander the Great assassinated in 336 BCAnd one of his wives; While the other theory defends that the remains found in the room are those of his son. Philip III EridioMentally disturbed half brother of the great conqueror and his wife Edea-Euridice.

Academic discussion has resurfaced recently after an article published by Antonis Bartsiokas, Democritus Professor Emeritus of the University of Thrace and leading defender of the theory that places the king in the Tomb of Vergina I in the Scientific Journal who transformed Macedonia into a military and economic power in the 4th century BC. Field Archeology Journal

Physical anthropologists claim to reinforce this idea with the study of textile materials identified in Tomb II or the Tomb of Philip II during excavations in the 70s: a projected tunic deposited in larynx Or a little golden coffin.

Physical, chemical and microscopic analyzes have shown that it is purple dyed cotton fabric which surround one or two layers of white substance composed primarily of a rare mineral, huntite. According to the researcher’s interpretation, this piece of garment would fit “exactly” with the sacred robe (mesoleucon serapis) which was worn by Alexander the Great and which, after his death, would have been inherited by his half-brother and successor Arrhidaeus, who was assassinated. This element of prestige would have been deposited in his tomb in Vergina along with a formidable breastplate, a helmet, a magnificent crown or a large iron sword.

Bartsiokas assures that this is further evidence that the tomb of Vergina is that of II Aridio: if purple was a symbol of royalty in antiquity, some sources indicate that cotton came to Greece only after the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great. Had reached. Therefore, according to physical anthropologists, sacred clothes This will be after the time of Philip II And it could not be deposited in his burial. Previous studies had already highlighted elements due to Persian influence to strengthen this belief, such as the presence of barrel vaults or frescoes depicting a hunting scene in the Eastern Paradise.

funeral pyre

The evidence was highly discussed by the academic community, as is the case with the Holy Robe. “In my opinion, the route used by those who defend that Tomb II is that of Arrhidaeus makes no sense because it would imply that Macedonia had no contact with Persia until the conquest of Alexander the Great Was, and had contacts, and a close person at that,” he tells this newspaper Mario Agudo Villanueva

author of Philip of Macedon (Desperta Ferro) and expert on ancient Greece. For example, he cites the case of Artabazus II, the Persian satrap of Asia Minor, who took refuge at Philip’s court from late 353 BC after a failed rebellion against King Artaxerxes III.

Agudo Villanueva also remembers the cloth that appeared larynx Attributed to Philip II It is not known whether it is a tunic, a scarf or a shroud: “The usual thing is that the shroud used at the time of cremation is the same, which is folded and placed there with the bones from the cremation.” Despite the presence of cotton, he says that this cloth could well have reached the court of the great Macedonian king long before his son’s military exploits. He further added, “It is of Persian origin, does not clarify anything, it is not conclusive.”

A weak point in Bartsiokas’ hypothesis and the researchers who support it, such as paleontologists Juan Luis Arsuagais that human remains have been identified in Tomb I, looted in ancient times, He was buried and not crematedAs was the custom among Macedonian kings. Agudo Villanueva says, “It seems unimaginable to me that Alexander the Great would not have followed state funerary tradition to bury his father.”

The researcher says, “We continue as we were and it cannot be said with certainty that the tomb belongs to Philip II or Arrhidaeus, much less that the cloth is the tunic of Alexander the Great ” Where do you think it would be more beneficial to concentrate efforts Study the remains that covered the mound: A large quantity of bricks, remains of iron swords, fragments of ivory and horse noose with clear signs of cremation. According to the excavators, these materials may have been part of a large funeral pyre Inspired by Homeric ideal.

Agudo Villanueva says, “Sources say that Alexander the Great ordered the cremation of some of those involved in the assassination of his father.” “What may shed light is that what appeared to be above, the remains of the pyre, which may date the placement of human or animal remains, were illuminated. What we have now go around the same thing,