Ancient coins found in Greece’s mystery tomb

COINS featuring the face of Alexander the Great have been found at the largest tomb ever unearthed in Greece. The hunt is on for clues to determine who lies buried there.

This picture provided by Greece's Culture Ministry, Oct. 20, 2014, shows the broken-off head of a marble sphinx, one of a pair that decorated the entrance of a large 4th century B.C. tomb under excavation at Amphipolis in northern Greece. Bones from a skeleton found in the tomb's innermost chamber could help solve the riddle of who was buried in opulent splendor there. A Culture Ministry statement on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014, said the skeleton was strewn in and around a rectangular stone-lined cist, under the floor of the cavernous, vaulted structure that is 8 metres (26 feet) tall. (AP Photo/Greek Culture Ministry)

COINS featuring the face of Alexander the Great have been found at the largest tomb ever unearthed in Greece, where archaeologists are hunting for clues to solve the mystery of who lies buried there.

The enormous tomb at Amphipolis in northern Greece dates back to the fourth century BC and contains near-intact sculptures and intricate mosaics.

The discovery earlier this month of a skeleton inside the structure has added to the excitement over the site, which has enthralled the Greek public.

The archaeologist in charge of the dig, Katerina Peristeri, said they still did not know the identity of the skeleton but it was likely the tomb was built for a high-ranking individual and could be linked to the family of Alexander the Great.

A stone-lined cistern found in the large 4th century B.C. tomb.

Giving the first complete presentation of the excavation results at the Ministry of Culture in Athens, Peristeri said the quality of the statues and the sheer scale of the tomb — it measures some 500 metres in circumference — “show that a general could have been buried there”.

The tomb was repeatedly plundered before being sealed off but Peristeri said the team still found several coins around the tomb, including some showing the face of Alexander the Great and some dating back to the third and second century BC.

Katerina Peristeri, the head of the archaeological excavation at the Kasta Tomb in Amphipolis.

Archaeologists had to dig their way past huge decapitated sphinxes, break through a wall guarded by two caryatids — sculpted female figures — and empty out an antechamber decorated with lavish mosaics to finally find the tomb’s occupant.

The tomb is linked to Alexander the Great.

Experts have known about the burial mound, which is 30 metres high, since the 1960s but work only began in earnest there in 2012.

“We knew we had to return there and solve the mystery of the hill,” said Peristeri.

Since the unearthing of the site, deemed to be of huge historical importance and visited by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in August, there has been widespread speculation over who was buried there: from Roxana, Alexander’s Persian wife, to Olympias, the king’s mother, to one of his generals.

A damaged mosaic floor found in the tomb at Amphipolis.

But historians say it is highly unlikely to have been Alexander himself, who conquered the Persian empire and much of the known world before his death at the age of 32

The tomb, the largest ever uncovered in Greece, is 500 metres long and 33m in height. Workers unearthing it have revealed twin sphinxes, a pair of Cartylids — or sculpted female figures — an elaborate mosaic floor and the remains of a skeleton.

Katerina Peristeri, the chief archaeologist at the Ancient Amphipolis site, said that the identity of the skeleton is still unknown, but certainly belongs to an important figure, possibly a general.

“You are aware that the most difficult task begins now — and that is carrying out the DNA analysis which will give us the answers we are waiting for,” she told journalists during a press conference.

She said several coins dating to the period of Alexander the Great were also discovered in the tomb.

A protective shelter excavators built over the entrance.

Officials have said the tomb most likely belongs to a distinguished male public figure or a general, prompting excited speculation that it might house the remains of Alexander the Great, who died in 323BC and whose final resting place remains a mystery. Alexander died in Babylon, aged 32. Some experts speculate that he was buried in Alexandria, Egypt.

His wife, Roxanne, and their son, Alexander, were exiled to Amphipolis after his death and slain there along with his mother, brother and sister-in-law, leading some experts to believe their remains might be discovered in the area.