Busting the "Vergina Tomb" myth

[George S.]

Wasnt there some archaelogist who got killed that he knew too much after the andronicus finds and exclaimed that it was all ellada not greek finds,
With so much govt interference one wonders what the real truth is.Also do people know that archaelogical material is shuffled around northern greece to various museums.On the vergina finds in 1977 they said it could be bone fragments of a woman.The claim of it being phillips was doubtfull.

[Amphipolis]

(Google translation from Greece related to post#216)

New twist, highly revealing, with dimensions related administrative inquiry takes the recent controversy surrounding the skeletal material of Aigai. "The synosteomeno femur with the tibia, which a recent study attributed to Philip II, far from the grave I Vergina excavation but by another country's archaeological site." The disclosure made in "K" the former director of the anthropology laboratory of the Democritus University Mr. Nikolaos Xerotiris when surprisingly found the publication osteological material for which, he says, have conceded the first publication rights by the late Professor M. Andronicus .

Indicates fact that you request the withdrawal of the study from the American journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), will refute with scientific arguments the findings of a recent study published in the same journal, while recourse to justice for theft of intellectual property . Already sent a letter to the current rector of LBB on "unacceptable ethical and legal actions." He blames the current laboratory director Mr. Anthony Bartsioka conducting the study power "highly antiakadimaiki", "criminal offense" as "not only violating the basic academic ethics, but showing inexcusable levity (" to make with academic courtesy ") baptized unrelated bone as derived from the grave I Vergina ".

But how Prof. involved. Xerotiris and how refutes the recent study of paleoanthropology A. Bartsioka and Juan Luis Arsuaga expressed the view that the male skeleton remains found at the grave I identify with Philip II?

"A few years after the discovery of the burial basilica cluster, Professor M. Andronikos instructed me to study the bones of the three royal tombs of Vergina" he explains. The two graves containing cremated bones which were studied and published, while the third plundered (Tomb I) included individually unburned bones which were apparently secondary and unrelated to the cluster of royal tombs burials.

The bones of the grave I moved to study first at the University of Crete and anthropology laboratory at the anthropology laboratory of the Democritus University, which was founded in 1993 and served as director until August 2011. "Due to insignificance, science (surface finds, disturbed stratigraphy the absence of correlation to anything) returned the material (some drumsticks and two or three femoral) in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, handing them to the then conservator Mr. Mathios. I kept only the child skull, which I studied for the sake of play, with Professor E. Vleek, presence of Professor J. Musgrave ».

The box in the laboratory of LBB where, as Mr. Bartsiokas the "K", found the skeletal material of the grave I only contained the children's scalp. On that basis, Mr. Xerotiris argues that "the femur with the tibia from anthropological material other country excavation that has gathered in the laboratory from various archaeological sites of the country (Crete, Epirus Halkidiki etc.).

He states unequivocally that corresponding "synosteomeno bone" did not exist in material handed M.. Andronikos for study. "This can be found by referring to one of the excavation diaries and, of course, is contrary to common sense to have to study bones which would show lameness and over 40 years to ignore demonstratively! If M. Andronicus had seen such a bone, obviously we would have other interpretations, other theories. "

In his complaint Mr. Xerotiris focus and substance of scientific analysis and as a Doctor of Medicine reports that during the reign of Philip the military traumatology was relatively developed and particularly a king will happened special medical care. "Said the bone but as shown in the illustrations shows that no medical care was taken and this resulted in a" disorderly synostosis "which hinder the mobility of the individual. And the alleged hole in the bone synosteomenou certainly not evidence of injury but a secondary lesion, which bears no relation to the original injury. "

The mystery further complicate thanks to Professor MR. P.. Faklaris, who, according to note the recent publication, "the osteological material excavated from the grave I and allowed to study." Our competent archaeological service explained that the excavation was carried out in 1977 by the team of M. Andronicus (Mr. St. Drougou, Chr. Paliadeli, P. Faklaris for a very short time, the student then, Angeliki Kottaridi, which made projects imprinting) and published by M. Andronicus ("Vergina II. The tomb of Persephone", Library of the Archaeological Society 138, Athens 1994). It remains to establish whether indeed the skeletal material comes from Vergina, by whom grave, from what level of the tomb, how and by whom it was granted to study the current director of the University of Thrace anthropology.

[George S.]

There a lot of unanswered questions still.

[DedoAleko]

Skeleton of Alexander the Great's Father Found

King Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, was known to have sustained a penetrating wound from a lance through his leg – crippling him three years before he was assassinated in 336 BCE. Macedonian royalty were interred at three tombs in the Great Tumulus hill in the northern Greek town of Vergina. It’s unanimously agreed that the occupant in tomb 3 is Alexander the Great’s son, Alexander IV. It’s believed that the remains of King Philip II were contained in tomb 2. It’s even commonly called “The Tomb of Philip.” But was that really him? After all, two male skeletons were excavated in the late 1970s: one from tomb 1, another from tomb 2.

After applying today’s forensic techniques to analyze the skeletal remains, Antonis Bartsiokas, from the Democritus University of Thrace, and colleagues say that Philip II was actually buried in tomb 1. Their findings are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week.

First, the team estimated age with the help of CT imaging and by examining teeth and pelvic bones. And pelvic bones, together with cranial bones, also helped them to determine the sex. Then they used a 16-slice scanner and an x-ray technique called radiography to scan particular bones of interest.

The 45-year-old male from tomb 1 was 1.8 meters (nearly 6 feet) tall. His left leg bone showed a stiffened knee joint (called flexional ankylosis) with signs of bone fusion (pictured above), likely the result of severe trauma-related inflammation. And right through the overgrowth of the knee, they found a hole that corresponds to a piercing wound made by a fast-moving projectile. This injury would have affected his locomotion, rendering the king lame. Additionally, asymmetrical bone lesions indicate what’s called “wryneck” – a potential side effect of the compensatory head tilting tied to an uneven gait. Every time he stepped on his left leg, he’d have to tilt his head to the right. His recovery after this wound is an incredible event in an era without antibiotics, the team says, and it demonstrates remarkable skill by his doctors to avoid bleeding.

Tomb 1 also housed the remains of an 18-year-old female and a newborn infant. These likely belonged to the king’s wife Cleopatra and their child. They were both murdered shortly after his death. Her maxilla is pictured above to the right, and the newborn’s remains are pictured below.

Since the male skeleton discovered in tomb 2 show no lesions indicative of a near-fatal leg wound, the researchers reason that the occupants of this tomb must have been King Arrhidaeus (Alexander the Great’s half brother) and his wife Eurydice. This unplundered tomb also contained armor with a helmet and a shield.

izvor: http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and...her-identified

[George S.]

One wonders of who really those bones are if they can't do a genetics study properly.Given the age of the fragments.There were doubts as to whose bones were found in vergina.

[Amphipolis]

I wonder, if it is the the tomb of Philip and contains his remains... is it possible for a DNA sample to be obtained?

If so, wouldn't it be good for tourism to let people go there and have their own DNA tested against it to see if there's any connection. Surely Greece would want to do that? Unless of course, they can't hide the results....

I wonder what kind of results that might show.

After failing for years to develop the related technologies Greece has ordered a DNA analysis to a laboratory/University in Manchester (I'm sorry I don't remember the name). This will be a process similar to the extraction of DNA from Richard III bones, in our case the bones are very ancient and burnt and (as far as I've heard) this makes it more difficult and costly (about 5 mEuros/person?).

Greece has ordered the genetic analysis for the (alleged) bones of Philip and Alexander IV which may (in the best case) show a grandfather & grandson relation or simply give a genetic profile of these persons. This may take around a year for results.

The skeleton of Amphipolis may follow unless interest is lost after the first anthropological results (full results will also take a maximum of 6-7 months). A team including Antikas, Maniatis and others is involved in both these processes (Vergina and Amphipolis).

[Amphipolis]

The findings of Vergina Tombs. 64 pictures of excellent quality. Wow! Enjoy!

http://history-pages.blogspot.gr/2012/04/blog-post.html

[George S.]

If their should be a name for the symbol of the Macedonian Royal Dynasty, that should be the Sun of Palatitsia. The village of Palatitsia and its name from the palace of Aigai opened the way to the French archaelogist Leon Heuzey for his research in the area at the 19th century. Palatitsia still exists, as a village and a part of the archaelogical area of Aigai, in remembance of the glory of the Macedonians with its name.
Greeks have nothing to do with the macedonia sun eh.

[spitfire]

Vergina is just a madeup name when its old macedonian name kutlesh should do.Do you know what kutlesh means in Macedonian.??

Virgin goats milked and their milk put in a pot could describe the history of the name thus far.

But no I don't know. What does it mean in macedonian?

[George S.]

Lately, I've started re-evaluating Faklaris who believes that Vergina is not Aegae and none of these tombs is royal. The author of the link simply mentions him, he says nobody takes Faklaris seriously and quickly bypasses him.I have been saying it for years.They are cococting it all.THe square peg fits all approach.I know that i'm right.Vergina is just a madeup name when its old macedonian name kutlesh should do.Do you know what kutlesh means in Macedonian.??

[Amphipolis]

there still remains a doubt about how the remains are of philip ii.THere is a saying the jury is still out.

Yes. This is a good summary (about 30 pages) of all opinions and controversies about the Vergina Tombs. This is from 2008, so it misses the recent major developments.

What is important about the latest analysis is that (based on the age of the diseased 45+/-4) they definitely exclude the option of Philip III Arrhidaios (which was the theory of Borza- Palagia). BUT, the results on the woman are also surprising and destroy or alter some of the pro-Philip II arguments.

Lately, I've started re-evaluating Faklaris who believes that Vergina is not Aegae and none of these tombs is royal. The author of the link simply mentions him, he says nobody takes Faklaris seriously and quickly bypasses him.

http://helios-eie.ekt.gr/EIE/bitstream/10442/13407/2/IGRA_DOC09_06.pdf

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[George S.]

there still remains a doubt about how the remains are of philip ii.THere is a saying the jury is still out.

[VMRO]

http://mashable.com/2014/10/12/alexander-the-great-father-remains/

Tomb Remains Confirmed as Alexander the Great's Father

The remains from a royal tomb discovered in Vergina, Greece, were confirmed to belong to the father of Alexander the Great.

A team of Greek researchers has confirmed that bones found in a two-chambered royal tomb at Vergina, a town some 100 miles away from Amphipolis's mysterious burial mound, indeed belong to the Macedonian King Philip II, Alexander the Great's father.

The anthropological investigation examined 350 bones and fragments found in two larnakes, or caskets, of the tomb. It uncovered pathologies, activity markers and trauma that helped identify the tomb's occupants.

Along with the cremated remains of Philip II, the burial, commonly known as Tomb II, also contained the bones of a woman warrior, possibly the daughter of the Skythian King Athea, Theodore Antikas, head of the Art-Anthropological research team of the Vergina excavation, told Discovery News.

SEE ALSO: Female sculptures revealed in Greek tomb (photos)

The findings will be announced on Friday at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. Accompanied by 3,000 digital color photographs and supported by X-ray computed tomography, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray fluorescence, the research aims to settle a decades-old debate over the cremated skeleton.

Scholars have argued over those bones ever since Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos discovered the tomb in 1977-78.

Scholars have argued over those bones ever since Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos discovered the tomb in 1977-78. He excavated a large mound — the Great Tumulus — at Vergina on the advice of the English classicist Nicholas Hammond.

Among the monuments found within the tumulus were three tombs. One, called Tomb I, had been looted, but contained a stunning wall painting of the Rape of Persephone, along with fragmentary human remains.

Tomb II remained undisturbed and contained the almost complete cremated remains of a male skeleton in the main chamber and the cremated remains of a female in the antechamber. Grave goods included silver and bronze vessels, gold wreaths, weapons, armor and two gold larnakes.

SEE ALSO: Great archaeological discoveries ahead

Tomb III was also found unlooted, with a silver funerary urn that contained the bones of a young male, and a number of silver vessels and ivory reliefs.

Most of the scholarly debate concentrated on the occupants of Tomb II, with experts arguing that the occupants were either Philip II and Cleopatra or Meda, both his wives, or Philip III Arrhidaeus, Alexander's half-brother, who assumed the throne after Alexander's death, with his wife Eurydice.

Analyzed by Antikas' team since 2009, the male and female bones have revealed peculiarities not previously seen or recorded.

"The individual suffered from frontal and maxillary sinusitis that might have been caused by an old facial trauma," Antikas said.

SEE ALSO: Accidental archaeological discoveries (photos)

Such trauma could be related to an arrow that hit and blinded Philip II's right eye at the siege of Methone in 354 B.C. The Macedonian king survived and ruled for another 18 years before he was assassinated at the celebration of his daughter's wedding.

The anthropologists found further bone evidence to support the identification with Philip II, who being a warrior, suffered many wounds, as historical accounts testify.

"He had signs of chronic pathology on the visceral surface of several low thoracic ribs, indicating pleuritis," Antikas said.

He noted that the pathology may have been the effect of Philip's trauma when his right clavicle was shattered with a lance in 345 or 344 B.C.

[Amphipolis]

you know that mosaic depicts macedonian life and not greek.You know the greeks and macedonians were not the same race.Both races are different.If they were the same race why draw a distinction??

No, I don't know. Which races? Which distinction? Which mosaic? That is a painting.

[George S.]

you know that mosaic depicts macedonian life and not greek.You know the greeks and macedonians were not the same race.Both races are different.If they were the same race why draw a distinction??