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| Remains in the larnax of the main chamber. Photo: Vergina: The Royal Tombs (Andronikos, 1984) |
In 1977, Manolis Andronikos discovered a cluster of Temenid burials at Vergina, ancient Aegae, under the Great Tumulus. Tomb II was unlooted, doublé chambered and each chamber had a sarcophagus housing a gold larnax (casket) that contained the cremated bones of a man and a woman, respectively. The king’s body was cremated in a great pyre, in the same way as epic heroes of the Iliad. A huge pile of half-burnt mud bricks, ashes, charcoal, and hundreds of burnt objects covered the whole length of the tomb’s barrel-vaulted roof. The presence of this pyre was the clearest evidence that the deceased was Philip II and not Philip III Arrhidaios, as some scholars suggested. A recent 5-year anthropological study has analyzed all bones and fragments of the human remains from the two larnakes in an effort to put an end to endless debates on the identity of the dead based on insufficient anthropological data. We have talked to Theodore G. Antikas, head of the Anthropological Research Team at Vergina excavation, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki.
Question – What was the purpose of your study and what kind of technologies have you used to analyse the remains?
Answer – The new study of human cremains found in the larnakes of Tomb II involved reexamining and reevaluating previous studies on the cremains (1981-1990) with the aid of medical (CT scans) and physico-chemical (eSEM, XRF) tests, and creating a data base containing 4000 digital color photos of the 450 bones and fragments analyzed.
Question – Could you talk us about the profiles of your team?
Answer – The team consisted of L.K. Antikas, I. Maniatis, A. Kyriakou, A. Tourtas and myself, basically from the Aristotle University and the National Center of Scientific Research ‘’Demokritos’’ in Athens.
Question – What can you explain us about the health of Philip II before his death?
Answer – We identified a male aged 41-49 years. We determined his age by examining pelvis bone fragments, the pubic symphysis and the auricular surface, not used by previous researchers. He suffered of chronic frontal and maxillary sinusitus which might be related to an old facial trauma. Showed signs of healed pleuritis on the visceral surface of lower thoracic ribs which may have been caused by hemo or pneumothorax after his clavicle was shattered. Showed degenerative changes and markers indicating middle age and excessive horse riding. And suffered an old incised wound on his left metacarpal caused by a sharp edged object, probably a weapon. That trauma had been missed in the studies of the 80’s and 90’s.
| Unequal greaves and gorytus in the antechamber. Photo: Vergina: The Royal Tombs (Andronikos, 1984) |
Questions – Philip was cremated together with his younger wife. What have you discovered about her?
Answer – Please note that Philip’s ”younger wife”, daughter of Skythian King Ataias, was actually his 7th wife or concubine. His 8th and last wife was the 18/19 year old Cleopatra. This female showed similar degenerative changes and markers due to excessive horse riding. Suffered a compression Schatzker IVfracture of her left tibial plateau that had caused shortening, atrophy, lameness and most probably disfiguration. This led us to the conclusion that the shorter left greave, the Scythian gorytus, the 74 arrow-heads and the weaponry found in the antechamber belonged to her, a fact that had therefore not been suspected. The woman could be (as NGL Hammond suggested as early as 1978) the daughter of the Scythian king Ateas.
Questions – Are you going to continue your study with Alexander’s IV remains?
Answer – Yes, our research continues with the cremains of Alexander IVin Tomb III, and the inhumed bones from the looted tomb-I of Persephone. This will be the last phase of this demanding project that has been delayed by the lack of funding.
Author
Mario Agudo Villanueva
