Massive Hellenistic Tomb Discovered in Northern Greece

News August 13, 2014

(Wikimedia Commons)
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(Wikimedia Commons)

AMPHIPOLIS, GREECE—A massive tomb has been unearthed in northeastern Greece, just 65 away from Thessaloniki, reports the Guardian. Over the past two years, archaeologists have been slowly excavating the giant structure, which dates to the fourth century B.C. The tomb is encircled by a 1500-foot marble wall and approached by an almost 20-foot-wide road lined with fresco-covered walls. Archaeologists have also discovered the tomb’s entrance guarded by two large sphinxes. A 15-foot-tall sculpture of a lion that may once have been placed on top of the tomb was discovered more than a century ago near the site. The tomb’s opulence and enormous size surely mark it as having belonged to an important Macedonian official, says a minister from the Ministry of Culture, and may rank it as the largest tomb ever found in Greece. Within the next weeks, archaeologists hope to enter the tomb’s interior, perhaps enabling them to identify who was buried inside. 

 

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