Skeleton may unlock secrets of Ancient Greece’s largest burial mound

ARCHAEOLOGISTS are hoping that a skeleton found in ancient Greece’s biggest burial mound will reveal the mystery of who is 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)

ARCHAEOLOGISTS are hoping that a skeleton found in ancient Greece’s biggest burial mound will reveal the mystery of who is buried there.

The richly decorated tomb near Amphipolis in northern Greece dates from the time of Alexander the Great, the Japan Times reported.

There has already been speculation the remains could be those of Alexander’s Persian wife, Roxana, his mother, Olympias, or one of his generals. Bones found a month ago at a tomb site 160 kilometres away have been revealed to be Alexander’s father, Macedonian King Philip II.

Burial site ... Casta Hill near Amphipolis in northern Greece, where archaeologists are excavating the 4th century BC tomb. Picture: Petros Giannakouris/AP

The bones were found scattered around a wooden coffin in the third room of the vast mound. To reach them archaeologists had dug their way past huge decapitated sphinxes and an antechamber decorated with beautiful mosaics, one showing the Greek god Pluto abducting the goddess Persephone on a horse-drawn chariot as the god Hermes looks on.

The burial mound’s massive scale — half a kilometre in circumference — and the quality of mosaics inside have fuelled theories that the tomb was built for a very high-status individual.

The Greek culture ministry revealed that the tomb “used more marble than any other public building in ancient Macedonia.”

AMPHIPOLIS: Tomb may be linked to Alexander the Great

HISTORIC FIND: Remains of Alexander the Great’s father King Philip II found

Past glories ... Inside the tomb archaeologists discovered a large, damaged mosaic floor showing the Greek god Pluto abducting the goddess Persephone on a horse-drawn chariot as the god Hermes looks on. Picture: AP

The discovery has also offered a heartening reminder of Greece’s storeyed past as the country finds itself mired in economic woes.

The ministry said the skeleton would now be studied to try to determine its identity.