What Is The Aigai (Vergina)?

Vergina is a small town in northern Greece, part of the Veroia municipality in Imathia, Central Macedonia. The town was founded in 1922 and was a separate municipality until 2011, when it was merged with Veroia under the Kallikratis Plan.

Vergina is known as the site of ancient Aigai, the first capital of Macedon. It was in the theatre in 336 BC that Philip II was assassinated, and his son Alexander the Great proclaimed king.

In 1977 the burial sites of several kings of Macedon were found, including the tomb of Philip II which had not been disturbed or looted. It is also the site of a royal palace. The Archaeological Museum of Vergina house all the artifacts found at the site.

UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage site in 1996.

History

Archaeological evidence proves that the ancient city lying on the north slopes of the Pierian mountains was the capital kingdom of Lower Macedonia. It was constantly inhabited from the Early Bronze Age, 3^rd millennium BC, and became an important centre in the Early Iron Age, 11^th-8^th centuries BC.

From the 7th century BC, the Macedonians expanded and in suppressing local populations establishing the dynasty at Aigai. The Macedonians spread to the central part of Macedonia and moved the local population of Pierians.

During the Classical periods (5th-4th centuries), Aigai was the most important urban centre of the area. It held the seat of the Macedonian kings and was the place where all the traditional sanctuaries were established. It was already famous in antiquity for the wealth of the royal tombs which were gathered in its extensive necropolis. The city wall was built in the 5th century, probably by Perdiccas II.

Although Archelaus moved the Macedonian capital north-east to Pella in the 4^th century BC, Aigai maintained its role as the sacred city of the Macedonian kingdom, the site of the traditional cult centres, a royal palace and the royal tombs.

After the death of Phillip II, and the subsequent takeover by his son Alexander, the struggles between the heirs of Alexander in the 3^rd century affected the city and in in 276 BC Gaulish mercenaries of Pyrrhus plundered many of the tombs.

When the Romans defeated the Macedonian kingdom in 168 BC, both capitals were destroyed.  A landslide in the first century AD destroyed what was left of the area and the few people that still lived there moved from the foothills of the Pierian range to the plain.

Archaeological Remains

Archaeologists showed interested in the burial mounds around Vergina as early as 1850, assuming that the site of Aigai was in the area. The first excavations on the site were carried out in 1861 by the French archaeologist L. Heuzey. The University of Thessaloniki resumed excavations in 1937. After the Second World War, the rest of the royal capital and the theatre was uncovered.

In 1977, M. Andronicos excavated the royal tombs in the Great Tumulus of Vergina of which the most remarkable was the tomb of Philip II. From 1987 the burial cluster of the queens was discovered. In March 2014, five more royal tombs were discovered, possibly belonging to Alexander I of Macedon and his family or to the family of Cassander of Macedon.

The museum of the tumulus of Philip II, was built over the tombs leaving them in situ and showing the tumulus as it was before the excavations. The only wall painting in the tomb pictures the Abduction of Persephone by the God of the Underworld which is a unique example of ancient painting.

In 1978 a tomb, near that of Phillip was discovered, thought to belong to Alexander IV of Macedon son of Alexander the Great. Another tomb discovered in 1980 had an impressive entrance with four Doric columns. It was built in the 4th century BC and may have belonged to Antigonus II Gonatas.

The palace was the most important building discovered and excavations dated the construction to the reign of Phillip II. The masonry and architectural members were covered with lustrous high-quality marble stucco that resembles marble. The theatre, also from the second half of the 4th century BC, forms an integral part of the palace.

The cemetery of the tumuli extends for over 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) and contains over 500 gravemounds, some dating as early as the 11^th century BC.

The royal tombs include two Macedonian tombs, the Rhomaios Tomb, dated to the beginning of the 3^rd century BC and the Tomb of Eurydice, which probably belongs to the mother of Philip II and is dated to about 340 BC. There is also three cist-graves dating from the 5^th and 4^th centuries BC, as well as four pit-graves of the late Archaic period.

The acropolis and the city walls are located on a steep hill to the south of the site. The fortification wall extends to the east of the city. Excavations have revealed parts of the circuit wall and Hellenistic houses in the enclosed area.

Interest For Today

Aigai has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status as “an exceptional testimony to a significant development in European civilization, at the transition from classical city-state to the imperial structure of the Hellenistic and Roman periods”.

The visitor goes underground to the site that marked the Royal Tombs, the grave stelae and finds from ordinary Macedonians to the splendour of Philip II’s tomb that takes centre stage with his weapons and golden decorated coffin.

Location

Aigai is in Vergina, Greece, at the coordinates: 40°29′N 22°19′E

Address: Τ.Κ. 59031, Vergina (Prefecture of Imathia)

Tourist Information

The Ancient site of Aigai is open daily from 09:00 – 17:00. Closed on a Tuesday.

Tickets in 2020 are €12 for adults and €6 for children. It is valid for Aigai, the archaeological site, Archaeological Museum of Veria, Byzantine Museum of Veria, and The Museum of the Royal Tombs at Aigai.

Contact details:

• Telephone: +30 23310 92347
• Email: efahma@culture.gr