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The Identification of the Sacred “Chiton” ( Sarapis ) of Pharaoh Alexander the Great in Tomb II at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece
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Cotton (Gossypium species) was used as textile fibre already in the early Indus culture, and since then it has been cultivated in Tropical and Subtropical regions around the whole planet. The species G. hirsutum is nowadays the dominant cotton crop with more than 90% of the world market, while G. barbadense, G. herbaceum and G. arboreum combined, the other cultivated species of Gossypium genus total a minor part of world’s cotton production. Even in places where cotton was not cultivated, it could be an important trade item and income source for local textile centres, with the imported raw cotton lint being spun, woven and for some part exported from such sites around the globe. This all occurred far away from Finland, until changes brought by the development of long-distance trade and the Industrial Revolution. Based on archaeological finds, cotton as a textile material reached Finland relatively late, in the early Middle Ages. The article focuses on the problematic nature of identifying these cotton finds: whereas modern cotton fibres are easy to identify, the archaeological finds can at first sight be confused with bast or un-degummed silk fibres. This issue will be approached through reviewing recent Finnish cotton finds in heritage textiles. Additionally, the article examines whether the four cultivated cotton species could be differentiated using both classical and newly developed fibre identification methods, such as optical microscopy methods, a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) or Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS).
In this study, the reflectance-FT-IR (r-FT-IR) spectroscopy is demonstrated to be a suitable option for non-invasive identification of textile fibers. A collection of known textile fibers, 61 single-component textiles from 16 different types, were analyzed, resulting in more than 4000 individual spectra. The r-FT-IR method was compared with ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy using two instrumental approaches: FT-IR-microspectrometer with ATR mode (mATR-FT-IR) and ATR-FT-IR spectrometer (ATR-FT-IR). Advantages and drawbacks of these methods were discussed. Principal component based discriminant analysis and random forest classification methods were created for the identification of textile fibers in case-study samples. It was concluded that in general, the performance of r-FT-IR is comparable with ATR-FT-IR. In particular, r-FT-IR is more successful than ATR-FT-IR in differentiating between the amide-based fibers wool, silk and polyamide. As an additional result of this work, a collection of r-FT-IR spectra of different textile fibers was compiled and made available for the scientific community.
Shellfish purple, also known as Tyrian purple and royal purple, has a long history, which has been revealed and documented in recent years through valid physicochemical studies using sophisticated techniques. The aim of the work was to summarize the conclusions of these studies and to describe the results of two unpublished investigations regarding the (i) identification of shellfish purple in a textile (4th century BCE) from ancient Macedonia and (ii) dramatic effect of the dyeing conditions on the composition of the purple dye. Moreover, a critical discussion is included about the discovery of the shellfish pigment and dye based on the available scientific evidence. Previously published reports describing the identification of the shellfish colorant in objects of the cultural heritage were carefully summarized. Shellfish purple was not used only as colorant, but it served other purposes as emphasized in this review. In particular, examples for the use of shellfish purple in medicine, grave goods and fillers and plasters in walls, were described. Examples of materials and methods that were used in the past to produce “fake” purple, imitating the aesthetic result of the valuable royal marine material were summarized. Finally, the solubility of indigoids was discussed using modern approaches of physical chemistry.
In this study, we analysed different resin finishing agents on cotton fabric dyed with reactive dye. Different tests were carried out on the resin treated fabric, such as the wrinkle recovery, tensile strength, dimensional stability, stiffness, abrasion resistance and colour strength (K/S) of the dyed fabrics. Melamine formaldehyde resin treated fabric gave a higher crease recovery angle, better smoothness and higher bending length because of higher crosslinking with cellulose. The colour strength decreased after applying the resin finish, and fastness properties were unaffected by the resin treatments.
Objective
King Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, suffered a penetrating wound to the leg from a spear that left him severely handicapped. His skeletal remains represent the first and only case of an injury from ancient Greece that can be directly compared to its historical record. The objective of the study was to confirm the identity of the male occupant of Royal Tomb I in Vergina, Greece as Philip II of Macedonia by providing new evidence based on anatomical dissection and correlation with the historical description of the wounds.
Methods
Radiographs and photographs of the leg in Royal Tomb I in Vergina were examined. Anatomical dissection of a cadaver with a reconstructed wound similar to Philip’s was also completed to identify associated soft-tissue injuries.
Results
The left leg was penetrated by an object at the knee which resulted in joint diastasis, external rotation of the tibia, knee ankylosis, and formation of a granuloma around the related object. This caused massive trauma to the joint but spared the popliteal artery. This resulted in ligamentous injury as well as injury to the peroneal nerve and probably the tibial nerve, resulting in a complete palsy of those nerves.
Conclusion
This evidence exactly matches the historical sources and shows conclusively that the leg and Tomb I belong to Philip II. The anatomic and archaeologic evidence also serve as independent verification of some of the historical record of that period, better enabling scholars to judge the reliability of various texts. Furthermore, it gives invaluable information about surgical practices in ancient Greece according to Hippocratic methods and their outcomes. Finally, this sheds new light on the occupants of Royal Tomb II including the fact that the armor recovered there may have belonged to Alexander the Great.
Despite the recent re-examination of the male and female human remains from tomb II at Vergina, it remains difficult to reconcile the osteological evidence with extant literary evidence about any one of the various royal women who might have been buried in the antechamber of the famous tomb. What does seem clear is that, for reasons of his own, the ruler who interred this woman chose to commemorate her as a woman warrior.
Increased attention has been given over recent years to the various ways that interaction between the Achaemenid Empire and Macedonia can be documented, both through the identification of imported realia into Macedonia from lands to the east or their locally-produced counterparts, and by the study of Macedonian iconographic schemes that may betray links with the art and practices of the Persian realm. This paper focuses on one particular iconographie scheme -the king enthroned below a canopy - which is well-known in Achaemenid official art, and for which the evidence of Macedonians actually following this specific form of Persian royal display bears re-examination. Indeed, the limits of cultural interchange, as regards the iconographic promotion of rulers and the actual praxis of lordship, in the period of Alexander's immediate successors between the recently conquered Persian sphere and the victorious Macedonians, with particular emphasis on the area of the old kingdom, are examined.
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and imaging coupled to optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to diode-array detection are used to investigate two samples removed from a painted decoration of a burial kline and a textile fragment, both found in Koru tumulus (fifth century BCE) in Daskyleion. Tyrian purple and kaolinite were identified in both samples, thus suggesting that the aluminosilicate compound had an important role in the applied painting and dyeing processes. The textile fragment is composed of undyed cotton and silk yarns dyed with the molluskan dye. The relative compositions of the molluskan materials used in the two archaeological objects are similar and comparable with the corresponding composition measured for a purple sample originated from Murex trunculus mollusks according to the HPLC results. This result is supported by principal component analysis (PCA) which, furthermore, takes into account the relative compositions of the extracts of the three Mediterranean mollusks, published in previous reports.
Significance
The knee ankylosis and the hole through it ties perfectly with the penetrating wound and lameness suffered by Philip II and conclusively identifies him as the occupant of Tomb I in Vergina, Greece. The age estimates of the three occupants are consistent with those derived from the historical sources. Cleopatra's (Philip’s wife) child was born a few days before Philip II’s assassination and both were murdered soon after Philip’s assassination. It follows that Tomb II belongs to King Arrhidaeus and his wife Eurydice and may well contain some of the armor of Alexander the Great. Thus, a nearly 40-y-old mystery concerning the Royal Tombs of Vergina has finally been solved that puzzled historians, archaeologists, and physical anthropologists.
In this paper – the revised text of a public lecture given in Athens on 23 February 1989 – the author reviews both the historical and anatomical evidence for identifying the occupants of the royal tombs at Vergina as: Tomb I: not known; Tomb II: Philip II and either Cleopatra or Meda; Tomb III: Alexander IV. The case for Philip III Arrhidaios and Eurydice in Tomb II is shown to be anthropologically weak. The paper also includes a catalogue of the human remains from Tomb II antechamber (Cleopatra or Meda) and Tomb III (Alexander IV). The arrival of cremation in Greece, and both Homeric and later Macedonian attitudes to the rite are also discussed. The general conclusion is that cremations are a valuable source of biological and archaeological information.
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Excavations at the site of Dhuweila in eastern Jordan produced some fragments of lime plaster with clear impressions of finely woven fabric preserved on one side. Microscopic examination of the plaster showed small tufts of fibre from the fabric still adhering to the surface. The fibres have been identified as cotton and radiocarbon dates obtained from the carbon remains of the fabric on the surface of three plaster samples give a date range from 5510 ± 60-4400 ± 90 BP (CAL BC 4450-3000). The dates suggest that the plaster and fabric can be broadly dated in the Levantine Chalcolithic or Early Bronze Age. The data provide evidence of an unexpectedly early date for the import of cotton textiles to the Near East.
Five items of silver plate from tomb II at Vergina are inscribed with their ancient weights. The inscriptions, using the acrophonic and alphabetic systems, suggest that the pieces were made to a drachma weight of ca. 4.2 g. This weight of drachma was introduced to Macedonia by Alexander the Great and does not appear to have been used by Philip II. The inscriptions on the silver add to the cumulative evidence provided by the cremated remains, black-gloss saltcellars, and iconography of the lion-hunt frieze that tomb II was the final resting place not of Philip II, but of Philip III Arrhidaios and Adea Eurydike.
FT-IR attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy has been used for the fast characterization of cotton fabric scouring process. The greige and the scoured cotton fabrics showed very similar FT-IR spectrum in transmission mode because the bulk composition of the fabrics are similar. However, FT-IR ATR spectroscopy can provide information about the surface of a fabric. By examination of C–H stretching region at 2800–3000cm−1, the amount of waxes left on the fabric can be estimated. The presence of pectins and/or waxes can also be probed by observation of carbonyl peak induced by the HCl vapor treatment on the fabric. Based on these changes of FT-IR ATR spectra, the scouring process has been characterized.
Extremely white huntite having friable, earthy character occurs in the Cameli basin which was downthrown along reverse faults
during neotectonic activity. The basement comprises dolomitic limestone and peridotite which were the main sources of Mg for
huntite formation. These units are overlain unconformably by conglomerate, sandstone, and mudstone of a fan-delta environment
and, locally, by swampy facies, and by dolomite-dolomitic marl-huntite and karstic limestone which represent mud-flat and
open-lake sediments, respectively. The huntite occurs as 0.5-3-m-thick massive deposits as well as fillings of fenestral dissolution
voids and as sheet cracks in dolomitic marl, dolomite and limestone which are evidence of arid to semi-arid climatic conditions.
Massive huntite with dolomite and/or hydromagnesite/magnesite probably formed by diagenetic processes in light of the gradational
contact of huntite with dolomite in the Suçati huntite deposit. While discoidal and fenestral huntite formed by direct precipitation
of Mg-rich pore waters in shallow coastal sediments of a mud-flat environment, the huntite flocculated during the precipitation
of karstic limestone, probably in a pluvial climatic regime.
The Royal Tomb II was discovered in Vergina, Greece, in 1977. It contained a male skeleton and a rich array of grave goods.
Evidence of trauma supposedly in the orbital bones of the skull has been thought to correspond to an eye injury that King
Philip II is historically known to have suffered. However, reexamination of the orbital morphology showed no evidence of such
pathology. Therefore, the skeleton does not belong to Philip II. New skeletal evidence shows that the skeleton belongs to
King Philip III Arrhidaeus. In this case, the tomb may well contain some of the paraphernalia of Alexander the Great.
More than 3000 fossil vertebrate specimens have been unearthed from the new Lower Pleistocene locality of Karnezeika, Peloponnese, Greece. The vast majority of the material (~90%) represents bovids, and their systematic study is provided herein. The bovid assemblage consists of four taxa. A significant portion of the collected bovid material belongs to a small sized gazelle, attributed to Gazella bouvrainae, and to the large Rupicaprini Gallogoral meneghinii. A relatively small sized form of Gazellospira torticornis has been recorded as well, and in addition the scarce dental material belonging to an unspecified Caprini form is mentioned as Caprini gen. et sp. indet. This combination of taxa is typical for the Middle Villafranchian of Greece (2.6–1.8 Ma).
The historical and quasi-romantic traditions represented by the Metz Epitome and its companion piece on the death and will of Alexander ( Liber de morte ) are late, problematic and derivative texts on the reign of Alexander the Great, which students often overlook and scholars often discredit on grounds of date and reliability. It seems appropriate to offer an introductory appraisal of these texts with a view to asserting their importance; however, some preliminary comments on the function of epitomes in the later Roman Empire may help establish a historiographical context.
The conservation of the funeral pyre textile of King Philip II of Macedonia, Greece, undertaken in 1997 in the Vergina Laboratory included examination (fibre identification, weave analysis, assessment of the state of preservation), experimental conservation treatment on previously treated and untreated fragments (removal of old consolidant, alignment of warp and weft, new consolidation) and mounting some fragments for exhibition. The textile is provisionally reported to be of cotton.
Drawing on the latest archaeology, epigraphy and historical interpretation, this major volume presents a survey of ancient Macedon, important parts of which are published by their excavators for the first time, including the palace of King Philip II. Archaeologists and historians of the ancient Greek worlds will welcome this milestone in the study of this rapidly changing filed, packed with new information, interpretations and essential bibliography. © 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. All rights reserved.
Earlier osteoarchaeological studies on cremains of the two individuals from Tomb II at Aegae led to endless debates on the identity of the dead. After re-examining the bones with Computerized Tomography (or CAT scan) (CT) and X-Ray Fluorescent scanning (XRF) support, our research team has found new evidence identifying the dead man in the main chamber as Philip II and the woman in the antechamber as the daughter of King Atheas killed in a battle against Philip II in 339BC. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article focuses on a recent find from the archaeological site of Vergina, which is identified as the old capital of the Macedonian kingdom, Aegae. In the surroundings of a sanctuary three burials were discovered with outstanding components. One of them, a gold oak wreath, constitutes the object of investigation. At the outset of the study the excavation site and the data of the discovery of the burials are outlined. Then the wreath is analytically presented in terms of typology, technology, craftsmanship and style. In order to incorporate it in a network of precious artefacts, the other four oak wreaths found in Macedonia and dated to the fourth century bc are described and all of them are compared in the search for similarities or differences. Through this procedure three of them, all from Vergina, emerge as belonging to the same artistic tradition and possibly the same place of production.
Then the issue of different contexts is addressed. First of all, the burial in question and the particularities of the other two burials with oak wreaths from Vergina are examined, resulting in the articulation of a pattern. The next step comprises a general sketch of the meaning of wreaths in antiquity both in life and in death, while a subsequent brief consideration of funerary assemblages from the same period and region lays emphasis on the symbolic significance of these head ornaments in their contexts. Attention is also drawn to the plant that the wreath imitates, which is connected to Zeus. In this framework the oldest known oak wreath, that of ‘Philip II’, is evaluated mainly by examining politics as reflected on coinage. The power of such symbols as applied to other members of the same family is put forward. Another level of approach, the evaluation of the wider territorial context, offers insights into the decision to deposit the burial in the area of an intra muros sanctuary in the old and venerated capital of the kingdom.
When the results of the study are combined, a working hypothesis emerges that would consider the burial containing the gold wreath as connected to a member of the ruling family. Research turns to the literary evidence and from this it appears that there is a possibility that the burial is that of the illegitimate murdered son of Alexander the Great.
The concluding section refers briefly to episodes in the cultural biography of the wreath. In the meantime, until further and holistic study of the three burials and the construction where they were discovered is carried out, the gold oak wreath forms part of exhibitions on various themes as a representative of the assemblages.
Alexander’s proclamation as King of Asia was not a claim to be the new king of Persia or the new Great King. Alexander’s empire was one above and beyond the local kingship of Persia, and this “revisionist” interpretation of Alexander’s kingship requires a new assessment of Alexander’s reconfigured royal costume. Alexander rejected the upright tiara (the symbol of Achaemenid kingship) and the “Median” (or riding) dress, such as the kandys and anaxyrides. In adopting a new and impressive royal costume, Alexander expressed the exalted nature of his recently won kingship of Asia by devising a hybrid Macedonian– Persian dress.
Cottons (Gossypium hirsutum L.) contaminated with stickiness can cause multiple problems in the textile mills. Contaminants originate from physiological sugars coming from the plant itself and/or entomological sugars coming from phloemfeeding insects, specifically the cotton aphid [Aphis gossypii (Glover)] and cotton whitefly [Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius)]. During yarn manufacturing, all textile equipment is contaminated with sugar deposits to different degrees, affecting both productivity and yarn quality. We evaluated 17 mixes of moderate stickiness in both ring and rotor spinning. To identify the types of sugars in the sticky deposits collected from the textile machinery, we assayed with high-performance liquid chromatography. Trehalulose (C12H22O11) was the dominant sugar in these deposits. It has the lowest melting point, ≈48(C, of the sugars involved in cotton stickiness. Dehydrated trehalulose is highly hygroscopic and absorbs ≈17.5% of water at 65% ± 2% relative humidity and 21°C ± 1°C. The combination of a low melting point and high hygroscopicity leads to higher concentrations of trehalulose in the residues than on the original fibers.
Plant fibres have been used since ancient times in numerous applications ranging from nets and basketry to textiles for clothing. A proper identification of plant fibre remains in archaeological excavations provides important information about resource exploitation and agriculture. In order to identify plant fibres, a series of fibre features—cross-section diameter, lumen diameter, dislocations (nodes), cross markings, cross-section shape and lumen shape—have been defined and characteristic traits of these features for different fibre types established. How suitable these traits really are for fibre identification has been a matter of debate. To resolve this issue, we have performed a systematic investigation of typical textile bast fibres: flax, nettle and hemp. We have investigated cross-section diameter, lumen diameter, dislocations (nodes) and cross markings using standard compound, white light transmission microscopy. Our investigations show that all the traits that are considered characteristic for one type of plant fibre can also, on occasion, be found in other types. This demonstrates that an investigation of the traits listed above is not sufficient to ensure a correct identification of the plant fibre material; in particular, when only a small amount of material is available. This is often the case in archaeological excavations.
This article reviews the evidence for built tombs in Macedonia prior to the construction of the royal tombs at Vergina. It considers earlier cist tombs with slab roofs, and evidence for architectural embellishment: it proceeds to discuss the evolution of the vaulted form, with architectural facades. In a second part, the identity of the occupants of Tombs I–III at Vergina is discussed, followed by a consideration of the arguments against the identifications proposed.
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The tombs at Vergina in Macedonia continue to produce more questions than answers. At the 1990 Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute in San Francisco a colloquium entitled ‘The royal tombs at Vergina: continuing issues’ was presented on these tombs, their dating, and their possible inhabitants. The participants in this colloquium were not in agreement about the identity of those laid to rest in the tombs, or when these burials took place, or the nature of the grave goods which accompanied the funerary rituals. We must continue to anticipate and hope for progress in the debate over these crucial questions.
A judicious combination of literary sources and archaeological research has often offered rewarding historical insights. In Macedonian studies such attempts have tended to be less fruitful, due to the scanty nature of the material and literary evidence. Now that archaeological investigation has expanded so widely in Northern Greece, it may be time to reassess aspects of Macedonian culture which have in the past been tackled with more enthusiasm than actual evidence, not surprisingly in view of the age-long interest in the people who shaped the Hellenistic world.
A number of cartonnage fragments from the collections of the Petrie Museum, UCL, were examined to identify pigments, media and grounds. The different types of cartonnage made in ancient Egypt are reviewed. Special attention was paid to green pigments, which were shown to be of green earth, or a mixture of Egyptian blue and a yellow, usually goethite or orpiment. Green earth was found in one artefact, dated to the 9th century BC: all other examples were from the Graeco-Roman period. No copper-organometallic greens were present in the examples studied, or Egyptian green, or malachite. Binding media was identified both by ELISA and by GC/MS. A pink colourant was identified as madder, while lead white was used as a white in one example, showing the influence of Roman and Greek pigments on Egyptian art in these later periods. Plant gum, egg, and animal glue were found in different fragments, with mixed media in a few cases. Moganite was found associated with quartz in some preparatory layers by X-ray diffraction, which has not been reported previously as a constituent of ground layers in Egyptian artefacts.
This article is presented as a continuation to the valuable study of S. Mo'taghed: Textiles Discovered in the Bronze Coffin of Kitin Hutran in Arjan, Behbahan (1982: 74- 138).1 Because S. Mo'taghed's study was originally written in the Persian language, a summary and commentary on the findings will first be presented.2 The second part of this article is directly related to the significance of this discovery. The exceptional survival of cotton textiles from southern Iran, their conservation, and study invites the opportunity to reassess past views and offer new ones regarding the origins of cotton and its introduction into the Near East. I. Context of the Find In 1982 a burial was found in the vicinity of an area known as Argūn, the location of the ancient city of Arjan (Arrajān), an important agricultural and commercial emporium during the Sassanian and Medieval periods. Arjan lies between 7.5 and 11 km northeast of the present-day city of Behbahān, close to the border between the provinces of Khuzestan and Fārs. This region stood on an ancient crossroads, linking the Iranian highlands, Mesopotamia, and the Persian Gulf (Gaube 1973; 1986: 519). The Arjan tomb included a number of unique masterpieces of superior artistic value and rare craft. A bath-tub bronze coffin contained the skeletal remains of an adult male lying on his back. He was dressed in his most valuable garment, a cotton garment decorated with gold rosettes and disks. At his side lay an iron dagger decorated with precious stones and gold 1 The present summary is based on the restoration work and study of the clothes by Susan Mo'taghed (Mo'taghed 1982: 74-138), head of the restoration and laboratory facilities at the National Museum of Iran. The author is most grateful to Ms. Mo'taghed for her warm reception and gracious help. 2 The author is most indebted to Ms. Azita Kheradvar for providing me with an English
The objective of this work is to study the composition of insect honeydew deposits collected from the high speed stickiness detector (H2SD). Both the effects of the hot plate temperature and the cleaning roll pressure of the H2SD on honeydew-contaminated cottons are evaluated. The tested materials consist of samples from 27 bales contaminated by whitefly honeydew (from geographic Area 1), 27 bales contaminated by aphid and whitefly honeydew (from geographic Area 2), and 27 bales contaminated by aphid honeydew (from geographic Area 3). Analyses of the data reveal strong interactions of hot plate temperature, cleaning roll pressure, and contamination type. The HPLC analysis of sticky deposits collected from the H2SD aluminum foil shows that for cotton contaminated with whitefly honeydew, trehalulose is the dominant sugar and the main cause of stickiness. However, for cotton contaminated with aphid honeydew, unidentified compounds are suspected of being major contributors to stickiness.
A polychrome painted wooden funerary figurine has been radiocarbon dated to 1220-1050 BC and is painted with a white pigment that includes gypsum, huntite, and tridymite. This is the first discovery of the use of tridymite as a pigment in Ancient Egypt. This unusual white pigment yields an exceptionally bright white paint. The authors argue that Egyptian artisans engaged in a sophisticated, deliberate manipulation of mineral-based pigments to achieve specific desired sacral effects.
The Royal Tomb of Philip II. An Unlooted Macedonian Grave at Vergina
- M Andronikos
- Andronikos M.
Το ύφασμα της Βϵργίνας. Πρώτϵς Παρατηρήσϵις
- S Drougou
- Drougou S.
Τϵχνικές ζωγραφικής στην αρχαία Ελλάδα (Postgraduate dissertation)
- A M Kakamanoudis
Investigation of an Unusual Composite Material found in the Larnax with Cremated Bones in Royal Tomb II at Vergina
- Y Maniatis
- T Arvaniti
- T G Antikas
- L Wynn-Antikas
- S Orsini
- E Ribechini
- M P Colombini
- Maniatis Y.