



The third chamber of the tomb of Amphipolis is the last one. This was announced earlier by the Ministry of Culture, spreading disappointment to those expecting a happy ending at the ongoing excavation and the mystery about the occupant of the grave, who is still not found. However, according to the general secretary of the Ministry of Culture Lina Mendoni, there are hopes that a fourth vault might be discovered underground, covered by a horizontal sealing wall.

In addition, the leading archaeologist of the sight, Katerina Peristeri, said, that if the tomb has been plundered this is a sign that a very important person was buried there, confirming at the same time that the third was also the last chamber. Commenting on the finding of the Sphinx wings in the third chamber, she said this is another mystery of the tomb.

As a reminder, archaeologists excavating Ancient Amphipolis were expecting a fourth chamber to be found, as a gap in the wall seemingly led to another chamber, but the dig revealed a marble stanchion had been removed from the spot by human hand. “The tomb has obviously experienced human intervention, as we can see so far. Since the beginning of the announcements, we had said and repeated several times that we have very strong indications of looting,” Mrs. Mendoni declared during a press conference held at the archaeological Museum of Amphipolis.

“Under the present evidence, we cannot speak of another room. This monument, as revealed, is extremely important, not just for the area and Macedonia alone, but also for history and archaeology. It also confirms that a lot of time needs to be spent on studying it: it’s possible that the scientific community will be discussing this monument and its significance in the science of history and archaeology for the next 10 or 15 years even,” she added.

Archaeologists are currently digging through one meter of sandy soil to reach the floor of the third chamber, hoping that the burial room is underground, covered by limestone.



