The Burial of the Dead (at Vergina) or the Unending Controversy on the Identity of the Occupants of Tomb II

Abstract

Few people would disagree that the discoveries made by Professor Manolis Andronikos at\nVergina some thirty years ago constituted the most sensational archaeological event of the\nsecond half of the twentieth century. Curiously, though, scholars have been singularly reluctant\nto make use of these extraordinarily rich finds in order to propose new approaches to\nsignificant historical riddles, such as the nature of the Macedonian state and society or of the\norigins of Hellenistic civilisation. The reason is the persistent disagreement among archaeologists\nconcerning the date of the most important of these finds, Tomb II of the Great\nTumulus. Thus, instead of using this unique sealed collection of new and diverse material\n(jewels, furniture, weapons, pottery, painting, sculpture, architecture etc.) in order to reconsider\nthe chronology of the late fourth century, we are still trying to date the tomb on the\nbasis of not always pertinent comparanda. It is true that the issue has been obscured by\nprecipitate announcements, the quest for publicity, political agendas and petty rivalries,\nwhich have led to an inconclusive series of down-datings and up-datings, finally disqualifying\nall the «scientific» criteria —including forensic medicine— invoked. Nevertheless I believe\nthat, though no publication of significant new material is to be expected, reasonable certainty\ncan be attained if the published material is examined in historical context and, above all, is\nsubmitted to ordeal by simple common sense.

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