Tunic found in one of the Royal Tombs at Vergina identified as Alexander the Great's

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An international team of archaeologists, led by Antonis Bartsiokas with Democritus University of Thrace, in Greece, has uncovered evidence that a tunic found in one of the Royal Tombs at Vergina once belonged to Alexander the Great.

In his paper published in the Journal of Field Archaeology, Bartsiokas outlines the evidence surrounding the purple and white tunic and also claims that he and his team have definitively identified the remains of three of the people entombed at the famous burial site.

Prior research has suggested that several members of Alexander the Great's family were laid to rest in the Royal Tombs at Vergina—the gravesite of the famous Macedonian king is not known, though it is most certainly not the Royal Tombs at Vergina. Such findings have made the site in Greece famous. In this new effort, Bartsiokas and colleagues took a new look at three of the tombs at the site, which have been informally named Tomb I, II and III.

Using a variety of testing techniques and historical reference works, the researchers found what they describe as evidence that the remains in Tomb I belong to Philip II, Alexander's father. Those in Tomb II belong to Alexander's half-brother Philip III, and the remains in Tomb II are those of Alexander IV, Alexander's son, who died while still in his teens.

Perhaps most intriguing about the work, however, is the purple and white tunic found along with the remains in Tomb II—a tunic is a fitted jacket similar to that worn by Captain Picard of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." By testing via gas chromatography and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, the researchers determined that the tunic was made of cotton and had been dyed using a purple color that was only allowed for the elite.

They note also that the tunic was featured in a frieze in Tomb II by a hunter identified as Alexander. Also, the tunic was found near a scepter, oak wreath and diadem, all made of gold, which are believed to have a possible link with ancient Persia, and by extension, to Alexander.

The research team was not able to explain why the tunic and other gold materials associated with Alexander the Great were left in the tomb, though they suspect it might have had something to do with Philip III being crowned king when Alexander died.

More information: Antonis Bartsiokas, The Identification of the Sacred "Chiton" ( Sarapis ) of Pharaoh Alexander the Great in Tomb II at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece, Journal of Field Archaeology (2024). DOI: 10.1080/00934690.2024.2409503

Journal information: Journal of Field Archaeology

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