Tour in Vergina and the Royal Tombs

The highlight of your stay in northern Greece will be the visit to the royal tombs in Vergina, at a distance of 75 km from Thessaloniki. It was in November of 1977 when this site became known worldwide. The Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos discovered the royal tombs under a huge artificial burial mound.

In antiquity, the place was known as Aiges, the first capital of Macedonia, before it was transferred to Pella by Archelaos. The royal cemetery was still in Aiges, and splendid ceremonies and festivities were held both in the palace and the theatre. It was such a ceremony, the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra, which led to the assassination of King Philip II and his cremation. It was also here where Alexander the Great was proclaimed to be King of Macedonia.

In the unique museum, the building protects the monuments. All the finds are displayed and it's absolutely worth seeing!

Golden wreath (source)	Golden Larnaca (source)	Tomb (source)

In the Tomb of King Philip II two gold larnaces (funerary caskets) were found, one of them containing the bones of King Philip, the other one the bones of the queen. They are adorned with the star of the Macedonian dynasty on the lid, an armoured plate (the only one from ancient times), decorated with gold strips and lions’ heads in relief, an iron helmet, weapons, a gold wreath, numerous objects of silver vessels, bronze objects, the queen's gold diadem and much more.

In the Tomb of Persephone, a beautiful wall painting depicts the abduction of Persephone by Pluto, the god of the underworld. Another Macedonian tomb is that of the prince and it is assumed to be the tomb of Alexander IV, the son of Alexander the Great. The cremated bones of the teenager were found in a silver hydria along with a gold wreath, weapons and small filigree heads of ivory.

In the same museum, Tomb IV with its free standing columns can be seen as well as the Heroon.

Some other ancient monuments found in Vergina include the palace with its ruins of walls, mosaics and columns, the theatre where King Philip was assassinated, and the Macedonian Tomb of Romaios and the Tomb of Eurydice.