Featured: Explore Scotland (and everywhere else) with our Megalithic Portal iPhone app

Explore Scotland (and everywhere else) with our Megalithic Portal iPhone app

Random Image


Staredam

Britain BC

Britain BC

Who's Online

There are currently, 351 guests and 2 members online.

You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here

Sponsors

<< Our Photo Pages >> Vergina - Ancient Village or Settlement in Greece in Northern Greece

Submitted by AlexHunger on Tuesday, 09 January 2024  Page Views: 9399

Roman, Greek and ClassicalSite Name: Vergina Alternative Name: Aigai
Country: Greece Region: Northern Greece Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Veria  Nearest Village: Vergina
Latitude: 40.478466N  Longitude: 22.322366E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

Internal Links:
External Links:

I have visited· I would like to visit

bat400 visited (still working on) on 8th May 2017 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 3 Maps still show the major buildings, tombs, and sanctuaries, but almost all of the ancient city of Aigai is currently closed to visitors. However, you can still hike up to see the fenced off (but visible) theater from the big parking lot on the east side of the modern village of Vergina. From here you have a great view to the north over what was the agora, a portion of the city's eastern wall, and the cemetery complexes. To the east you can see the modern village of Palatitsia ("palace,") where the 16th century church of St. Demetrius can be seen with ancient column drums making up part of the walls. http://www.panoramio.com/photo/23715229

davidmorgan have visited here

Vergina
Vergina submitted by Dodomad : The site of one of the most important monuments in classical antiquity - the palace where Alexander the Great was crowned king - has reopened after a 16-year restoration. The Palace of Aigai, near Greece's northern port city of Thessaloniki, was built more than 2,300 years ago. It was later destroyed by the Romans and unearthed through excavations beginning in the 19th Century. (Vote or comment on this photo)
City dating back to 3000 BCE. There are remains of the Palace of Aiges, theatre and habitations. The site also has about 300 small Iron Age tumuli as well as the large tumuli of Macedonian Kings listed separately. (see the nearby sites list on our page)

Much of the site is not currently open to the general public as of 2017. However, the famous theatre (probable site of the presentations of Euripides later plays and the location of the assassination of Phillip II during his wedding celebrations) can be seen through fencing and provides a panoramic view of the site, including glimpses of the 5th C BCE city wall and numerous tumulus locations. The Palace excavation site cannot be visited at this time.

Note: The site of the palace where Alexander the Great was crowned king - has reopened after a 16-year restoration, more in the comments
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Vergina
Vergina submitted by bat400 : The theater of Aigai, just north and downhill from the site of the palace. Photo by bat400, May 2017. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Vergina
Vergina submitted by mgvh : Aigai (Vergina) Temenid tomb cluster. Tomb Y1 most probably of Alexander I (454 BCE) (Vote or comment on this photo)

Vergina
Vergina submitted by mgvh : Theater at Aigai (Vergina) where Philip II was assassinated, leading to Alexander the Great's accession to power. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Vergina
Vergina submitted by bat400 : The reconstruction of "The Great Mound" that concealed royal tombs of Aigai. The famous tombs and museum exhibits lie within. Photo by bat400, May 2017. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Vergina
Vergina submitted by davidmorgan : The Macedonian "Rhomaios Tomb", an Ionic, temple-shaped structure, dated to the beginning of the 3rd century B.C.

Vergina
Vergina submitted by davidmorgan : The tombs down the road are much more interesting. Photo taken in 1993. (1 comment)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive map of the area

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.0km NNW 347° Tomb of Philip II* Chambered Cairn
 25.0km NW 322° Fleurons Macedonian Tomb* Chambered Tomb
 25.1km NW 321° Krisis Macedonian Tomb* Chambered Tomb
 25.2km NW 320° Kinch's Macedonian Tomb* Chambered Tomb
 25.3km NW 312° School of Aristotle* NOT SET
 25.4km NW 320° Lyson and Kallicleus Macedonian Tomb* Chambered Tomb
 25.5km NW 312° Mieza* Ancient Village or Settlement
 27.7km ESE 113° Pydna* Ancient Village or Settlement
 35.0km NNE 28° Pella (Greece)* Ancient Village or Settlement
 36.3km NNE 20° Giannitsa Archontikon* Ancient Village or Settlement
 36.5km SSE 157° Dio.* Ancient Village or Settlement
 41.8km NNW 328° Edessa* Ancient Village or Settlement
 53.5km ENE 77° Karabournaki* Ancient Village or Settlement
 93.5km S 175° Larissa (Thessaly)* Ancient Village or Settlement
 101.6km NW 306° Heraclea* Ancient Village or Settlement
 101.8km NW 323° Pavla chuka Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 103.2km SW 215° Metéora* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 104.3km SSW 212° Theopetra Cave Cave or Rock Shelter
 105.0km ESE 115° Amon Temple of Zeus Ancient Temple
 105.5km ESE 115° Aphitis Temple of Zeus Ammon Ancient Temple
 106.6km ESE 122° Temple of Poseidon, Posseidi* Ancient Temple
 109.1km NNE 14° Tsarevi Kuli Ancient Village or Settlement
 111.6km NNW 327° The Great Goddess with three faces* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 123.0km NNW 346° Stobi* Ancient Village or Settlement
 125.1km E 84° Stagira* Ancient Temple
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Carrigacat and Milleen copper mine

Bransdale Ridge BS2 >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Free book with orders of £10 or over in our shop

Free book with orders of £10 or over in our shop

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Vergina" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Greece reopens huge Alexander the Great monument by davidmorgan on Sunday, 07 January 2024
(User Info | Send a Message)
The site of one of the most important monuments in classical antiquity - the palace where Alexander the Great was crowned king - has reopened after a 16-year restoration.

The Palace of Aigai, near Greece's northern port city of Thessaloniki, was built more than 2,300 years ago.

It was later destroyed by the Romans and unearthed through excavations beginning in the 19th Century.

Its renovation cost more than €20m (£17m; $22m), with help from the EU.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who attended a ceremony for the site's reopening on Friday, described it as a "monument of global importance".

"The significance of such monuments becomes the heritage of the entire world," he said.

"We must highlight it, promote it, and expand the horizons revealed by each new facet."

Among the restored sections are some of the palace's massive colonnades.

The site will reopen to the public on Sunday.

From the BBC.
[ Reply to This ]

Macedonian Aigai, 2017 by bat400 on Tuesday, 27 June 2017
(User Info | Send a Message)
The site of the palace, upper acropolis, theater, Rhomaios Tomb and other excavation sites are still not open for viewing in 2017. But you can go up and see the famous theater through the fencing. That location is also a very good one for a general view of what was the agora and far down the hill toward the main road one can still make out a portion of the eastern wall and the undulations of multiple grave sites.
[ Reply to This ]

New finds at Macedonian Aigai by davidmorgan on Sunday, 19 May 2013
(User Info | Send a Message)
Submitted by coldrum:

Three impressive funerary monuments which might open a new chapter to the study of the evolution of the so-called Macedonian Tombs have been discovered.

The tombs, found by Dr. Angeliki Kottaridi (Director, 17th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities), have been located in the area surrounding the Vergina Town Hall, where a cluster of very important tombs, connected with the Temenidae rulers of Macedonia, had been brought to light 15 years ago.

Of the three tombs, the middle one is described by Dr. Kottaridi as “large, stone-built cist grave, surviving almost completely up to its original height, modestly decorated with blue and red pained bands and with the characteristic stone pedestal that points the position of the funerary bed and the funerary urn placed on its South side”. Another tomb, located south, is described above, was found “very destroyed”.

North of both tombs described above, a very impressive monument came to light. “The tomb, surviving up to the middle of its original height (estimated to reach 4,50 m.), is formed as a wide hypostyle hall measuring 7 X 5 m. Two non-fluted Ionian columns with considerably high square bases, were placed along the building’s axis supporting the stone ceiling while semicolumns –two on each long and two on each narrow wall – were adding grace and elegance. In each of the corners, quarter-columns were placed instead of pilasters […]. A column capital was found next to the western semi-column. Covered with white plaster, the lines of its scrolls painted with blue and its scrolls’ centre painted in red, it repeats a type known from mid 5th century BC monuments. The gate opening, framed by two semi-columns, is located in the middle of the Northern broad side and it could be reached through a monumental stairway. The pedestal connected with the funerary bed and the urn is located straight opposite the gate”, says Dr. Kottaridi adding that “this building, with its unprecedented plan, promises to open a new page to the discussion on the origins of the Macedonian Tombs”.

Still, beyond its architectural plan, the human and animal remains found in this tomb are worth examining. Dr. Kottaridi counts “fifteen horses, several dogs, a dozen of adults, several infants and toddlers” which must had been thrown dead inside the empty and destroyed grave, well after its original use, alongside shards of pottery, tiles, pieces of a marble funerary stele and a magic scroll (katadesmos). The single layer they cover, the position of the bones that shows they supported bodies when they were placed there and the shards that can be restored, point that they were thrown in the tomb at once, during a single tragic incident. This, according to the pottery and a bronze coin, is probably connected to the destruction of Aigai which followed Perseus’ defeat by the Romans in Pydna (168 BC) and the fall of the Macedonian Kingdom.

At any case, all these tombs were found violently looted. This fact might be connected to the destruction of the royal necropolis of Aigai in 276 BC by Pyrrhus the Great Gaul mercenaries –an incident reported by Diodorus. However, traces from the funerary pyres were found during the excavation. A relief in gold, probably part of a shield’s decoration, depicting fighting warriors was found in the cist grave. A golden oak, found also in the cist grave, witnesses that a golden wreath was present in the tomb, meaning that the deceased was a man. The same result comes from finding pieces of a cuirass in the form of scales in the hypostyle tomb, while a number of golden discs carved with the characteristic Macedonian star also survived the looting.

Between the hypostyle and the cist grave, the archaeologists -digging a tiny bit deeper from the ground- found a 15 m. – long floor paved with pebbles as well as pieces of white and colored wall plaster. There are no traces from the original building, due to the removing of

Read the rest of this post...
[ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>

We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.