"Vergina and Pella" Top 5 Page for this destination Greece Off The Beaten Path Tip by deecat

Photos:
1. Shine built where Paul stopped , a Jewish trading area.
2. Mosaic floor for Pell from 1st century B.C. [Macedonian Period] Philip II born here.
3. Pella Museum: two lead-framed mosaics. Alexander the Great on a Lion Hunt and Dionysus on Leopard.

Vergina is the newly discovered tomb of Philip II of Macedonia. The royal tombs were discovered in 1977-1978 by the archaeologist, Manolis Andronikos.

Discovered was the ancient capital of the Macedonian kings and its cemetery. Most famous are the tombs of the royal dynasty, King Philip II & a young prince identified as Alexander IV.

Until their discovery, they were buried under a hill with trees planted & tombstones placed there to camouflage the fact that Philip's tomb, with treasures, were buried underneath.

The tomb's door was recovered with beautiful detail including a bronze handle. There were silver & bronze vases & a gold sarcophogus containing his bones. The area is still being worked on for more finds. We saw the tombs' contents in the Thessaloniki Museum.

An underground building was constructed in 1993 to enclose & protect the royal tombs. It maintains the stable temperature & humidity necessary to preserve the wall paintings. It is so unique because on the outside, it just looks like an earthen mound; inside, the treasures found in the royal tombs have been on display for ten years.

The first tomb is a large Macedonian tomb which was found desecrated & destroyed. But it illustrates the development of Macedonian sepulchral architecture with independent columns which stood close to the front wall.

Next comes the "Heroon", a building intended for the cult of the dead kings. It contains a wall painting of the rape of Persephone by Pluto.

Third is the Tomb of Philip II with a deep antechamber & a large burial chamber.

Then we went to Pella ruins where Alexander the Great was born, & the picture shows the floor of a home made of river stone mosaic. An earthquake destroyed Pella.

othercontact: Vergina, Macedonia, Greece
Phone: ++30 23310 92347