Dorothy King: Amphipolis was home to a cenotaph for Alexander the Great

In her post, Ms. King notes that the chambers were probably used for a cult of Alexander whilst they waited for his body to come home.

US archaeologist Dorothy King who has been following the exciting story of Amphipolis from the very beginning, commenting on the finds and the announcements by the Culture Ministry, posted an article on her blog, Dorothy King’s PhDiva, in which she claims that Amphipolis “ain’t over yet.”

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More specifically, the US archaeologist and historian who has been described by The Guardian as “blonde, glamorous and a fearless hunter of treasures” claimed that “the empty rooms and dead end support a cenotaph and heroon for Alexander the Great, which was not reused for anyone else since doing so with such an important tomb might have seemed presumptuous.”

In her post, Ms. King notes that the chambers were probably used for a cult of Alexander whilst they waited for his body to come home. “The items once in there would have been removed before it was filled with soil to prevent it collapsing,” the historian adds.

Based on the fact that the weight of the mound should not have been enough to make the chamber collapse if the rest of the core was solid, the archaeologist believes that there were other sets of rooms in the mound.
She also thinks that it is highly likely that there were other structures around the important tomb, whether the sarcophagi of later deceased or temples to heroes and gods.

Finally, based on parallels with the mound at Vergina, Ms. King notes that “although there won’t be remains from the pyre since there wasn’t one, there are likely to be painted stele and other items deposited there.”

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