The Young Alexander by Alex Rowson

Author:Alex Rowson [Rowson, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2022-03-03T12:00:00+00:00

The excavation of the second, much larger tomb (Tomb II) took place concurrently with the investigation of the first. It was of a different construction and design, a distinctive type of burial monument known as the ‘Macedonian tomb’ – a subterranean structure characterised by a barrel-vaulted roof with a façade resembling a temple or house of the dead, approached by a sunken road or dromos. The general architectural form is believed to have come into existence around the middle of the fourth century BC. The team set about revealing the tomb’s façade and quickly started to uncover an elaborate colour and decoration scheme. The cornice was painted in red and dark blue with white palmettes set along its length. As they continued down they came across its most stunning feature – a large painted frieze, 5.56 metres long and 1.16 metres high.[18] It was far more detailed than the frescoes in Tomb I but time and localised soil conditions had done much damage. As conservators began to carefully peel away the dirt, the image, like a photograph developing in the dark room, began to emerge. It was a hunting scene, with animals and men depicted in mellow tones of grey, white, brown and green; a composition of unparalleled skill, the most magnificent painting ever found in Macedonia, or anywhere in Greece for that matter. It was a just reward for the team’s hard work and further emphasised the importance of whoever was buried within.

Funds were now rapidly running out and there was only time for a few days’ further excavation. The looting of Tomb I had prepared the archaeologists for the possibility that this structure too had been plundered. That was the norm with Macedonian tombs: fifty-one had so far been discovered and all but one, whose contents were poor and insignificant, had been desecrated.[19] It was the usual practice of the grave robbers to gain access via the roof, then smash their way out through the main doors, arms laden with treasure. Andronikos hoped to expose the tomb’s entrance. If it had been looted, as was suspected, the doors would no longer be in their original position, and he would be able to appraise the state of the interior before wrapping up the dig.

The team continued their work, revealing the rest of the entablature, which was also highly decorated with another painted cornice beneath the frieze, and below that alternating blue triglyphs and white metopes contained within bands of red. The weekend was now approaching and Andronikos was required to attend a meeting in Thessaloniki, so he left his two assistants, Stella Drougou and Chrysoula Saatsoglou-Paliadeli, in charge. While away he received an unexpected phone call from the site; as there was only one phone in Vergina it suggested some urgency. ‘Who’s calling?’ he asked. ‘It’s Stella,’ came the reply, ‘Professor, we’ve found the door.’

This didn’t strike Andronikos as unusual – they had expected to find the door, albeit probably smashed and lying on the ground. He couldn’t understand why Stella would phone him with such news.

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