For Spitamenes: Philip II- Momments in the excavation

Discuss Philip's achievements and Macedonia pre-Alexander

Moderator: pothos moderators

Post Reply
system1988
Hetairos (companion)
Posts: 739
Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2011 11:20 am
Location: Athens, Greece

For Spitamenes: Philip II- Momments in the excavation

Post by system1988 »

No comments. Comments will follow!
Attachments
picture052.jpg
picture052.jpg (80.05 KiB) Viewed 5877 times
picture050.jpg
picture050.jpg (80.44 KiB) Viewed 5877 times
picture047.jpg
picture047.jpg (53.55 KiB) Viewed 5877 times
Πάντες άνθρωποι του ειδέναι ορέγονται φύσει
User avatar
spitamenes
Hetairos (companion)
Posts: 329
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:51 pm
Location: St.Louis, U.S.

Re: For Spitamenes: Philip II- Momments in the excavation

Post by spitamenes »

Wow, I just noticed this.. thank you very much for putting this up here!
Much appreciated! :)
User avatar
spitamenes
Hetairos (companion)
Posts: 329
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:51 pm
Location: St.Louis, U.S.

Re: For Spitamenes: Philip II- Momments in the excavation

Post by spitamenes »

So it was completely buried then.. facade and all. That's definitely not how things are nowadays. I guess back then they had to worry about security issues too though. They couldn't really guard the tomb at all times and if it was above ground it would be a beacon for grave robbers.
I wonder if it was done secretly in an undisclosed location that the general public did not know about.

And is that gold box the one that was holding the remains of what is said to be Philip?
system1988
Hetairos (companion)
Posts: 739
Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2011 11:20 am
Location: Athens, Greece

Re: For Spitamenes: Philip II- Momments in the excavation

Post by system1988 »

spitamenes wrote:So it was completely buried then.. facade and all. That's definitely not how things are nowadays. I guess back then they had to worry about security issues too though. They couldn't really guard the tomb at all times and if it was above ground it would be a beacon for grave robbers.
I wonder if it was done secretly in an undisclosed location that the general public did not know about.

And is that gold box the one that was holding the remains of what is said to be Philip?
I think that all of you are aware of these artifacts. I only chose photos of the excavation in motion. In this tombs's case we have an unusual speed of construction. The coating was quickly applied and the holes of the beams were left open. The archaeologist Andronikos who excavated the tomb interpreted that haste from focusing on Philip II and the circumstances of his death. His assassination in the theater of Aegae caused a lot of confusion. Alexander was immedietaly declared King but knew that he had many enemies to face both on the outside and on the inside. It is a given that he had to travel to Pella with all haste but he had to conclude both the funeral and the burial of his father. Thus ordered the contruction of a magnificent tomb, but, at the same time, believed that he did not have to wait for its completion. When the burial chamber was built and the coating was applied as fast as possible, Alexander performed the ceremony, closed the marble door and he could now travel to the capital of the State.

I personally believe that a lot of people (all architects and workers as well as their families etc) knew the tomb's location and thus it must have bneen a common secret.

Now the photo I am sending to you (one of the great ones I usually send to you lol) is actually a two- part (2 photos in one), the 2 pieces of the golden and red weave with which the bones of the dead queen were covered. They were found in the entrance hall's golden urn (smaller than Philip's urn). If you look carefully you will see among the design two swallows!
Attachments
picture058.jpg
picture058.jpg (72.61 KiB) Viewed 5854 times
Πάντες άνθρωποι του ειδέναι ορέγονται φύσει
User avatar
spitamenes
Hetairos (companion)
Posts: 329
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:51 pm
Location: St.Louis, U.S.

Re: For Spitamenes: Philip II- Momments in the excavation

Post by spitamenes »

It's amazing how old that cloth is. that's something I'd like to see in person. Im sure there's plenty of things from that tomb I'd really like to look at closely. There aren't too many examples of cloth from that long ago.
Like the wooden banisters at Pompeii. That's really cool to see something that is normally very susceptible to time finding a way to survive all this time.
Post Reply