February 2015
CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND
Caryatids (2.27m high) guarding the second chamber of the Amphipolis tomb (Photo: Greek Culture Ministry)
The Amphipolis Tomb: When? Where? Who? by Damhlaic mag Shamhráin On 20 January 2015 we were promised answers to the oft-asked question “who is buried in the magnificent Amphipolis burial complex?” For over a year, archaeologists have busied themselves in the excavation of the Mound at Kasta in Greek Macedonia, located near the site of ancient Amphipolis, between Thessaloniki and Kávalla.1 The first indication of a man-made tumulus or other series of constructions was the discovery of a nearly 500-metre-long wall of marble surrounding the Mound. So far, 80 metres of that circular wall have been fully uncovered, all in pristine condition. Because of the design of the wall, the work has been attributed to Dinocrates of Rhodes, architect and engineer to Alexander the Great, who famously rejected his proposal to cut Mount
Atos into the shape of a man holding a city in one hand and a reservoir in the other. Originally, the famous Lion of Amphipolis is thought to have stood atop the enormous Mound. It was reconstructed from fragments in the early part of the last century, and is located some five kilometres away from the tomb – but it is still, fortunately, in the general area despite an attempt by English
Head of the Lion of Amphipolis prior to its reconstruction.2
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