Looking Inside The Tomb In Ancient Amphipolis, Greece

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Archaeologists excavating the discovered tomb in Ancient Amphipolis, Greece, on 25 August managed to uncover the monument’s main entrance and entered its first room, which is considered a vestibule.

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The blocks have been removed from the sealing wall and the monument’s facade has been revealed almost entirely. The facade displays a highly original composition for this type of Macedonian tomb, dating from the last quarter of the 4th century BC (photo 1).

The facade’s decoration is not different from the one of the side walls, with fresco imitating the marble wall of the perivolos. The spacing between the pilasters is 1,67 meters wide and the typology suggests that there were no door panels but the door opening was free (photo 2).

Following the debris removal from the vestibule’s interior, an inlayed composition of marble plaques appeared under the marble ionic architrave, covering the side walls all along (photos 3, 4).

In a distance of 6 meters from the entrance, the upper part of a marble blocking wall has an opening on its top left (photo 5). Behind this wall, two more spaces are visible.

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On the blocking wall, a marble architrave was revealed bearing a cornice similar to the one found at the perivolos. The cornice is adorned with eight-leafed embossed rosettes at the height of the architrave of the side walls (photo 6).

Archaeologists expect that the blocking wall might bear another door, leading to the monument’s interior.

During the following days the team will proceed to remove the debris covering the space behind the door.

These discoveries follow the uncovering of the entrance to a late 4th Century tomb guarded by two headless sphinxes and other decorative details of the monument.