"Suppose it's a funerary shrine dedicated to Hephaestion," said the press Katerina Peristeri, leading Amphipolis archaeological work on the site. "We do not know if it's buried inside," she added.
According to the ancient historian Plutarch, when Hephaestion died in Ectaban (Iran), "Alexander and asked his architect, Deinokrates, to lift mausoleums in the country", recalled Peristeri. Amphipolis massive tomb (located about 60 kilometers from the city of Serres) is the largest ever found in Greece. He was brought to light in 2012 and opened last year, fueling speculation that could be dedicated to a close friend of Alexander, his mother, Olympia, or his wife, Roxana.
Investigations have not led yet to find a definitive answer. Archaeologists have found three inscriptions, one of which is the monogram of Hephaestion.
But other archaeologists put into question the discovery team Katerina Peristeri, saying that the tomb was not conducted under the Romans and the Macedonians. Peristeri maintains that it was built in the fourth century BCE century, between 325 and 300, and was used until Roman times.
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