Ancient Greek Tomb Unearthed!



(image via csun.edu)

We, as good Corsairs, who studied the Classics in college, were intrigued by this from Breitbart(link via drudgie-poo):

"Archaeologists have unearthed a massive tomb in the northern Greek town of Pella, capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia and birthplace of Alexander the Great.

"The eight-chambered tomb dates to the Hellenistic Age between the fourth and second century B.C., and is the largest of its kind ever found in Greece. The biggest multichambered tombs until now contained three chambers."

We remember, a decade ago, attending a lecture at Johns Hopkins, on the then-recent discovery of the tomb of Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander. The historic find gave us clues as to the life of the ancient Greeks in the twilight of the Homeric cosmos. Ironically, in many finds of the same era, Scythian tomb robbers had made off with some of the most valuable objects, leaving, in turn, garbage and detrius that -- due to the extreme antiquity -- became objects themselves of archeological interest.

"The 678-square-foot tomb hewn out of rock was discovered by a farmer plowing his field on the eastern edge of the ancient cemetery of Pella, some 370 miles north of Athens, archaeologists said.

"'This is the largest and most monumental tomb of its kind ever found in Greece,' said Maria Akamati, who led the excavations.

"Archaeologists believe the tomb _ filled with dozens of votive clay pots and idols, copper coins and jewelry _ will shed light on the culture of Macedonia in the period that followed Alexander's conquest of Asia."

More here.