Vergina

The tombs of Vergina are not walked into so much as walked down — down a ramp of stone into a great earth mound, the Great Tumulus, until the air cools and the sounds of the surface vanish, and the visitor stands in a darkened chamber where a Macedonian king was buried 2,300 years ago. The tomb of Philip II was discovered intact in 1977 by the Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos, and it is one of very few unplundered royal burials ever excavated. Inside, on a stone couch, lay the remains of the king, crowned with a golden oak wreath of astonishing delicacy, wrapped in a purple cloth woven with gold. Around him were his weapons: an iron and gold breastplate, a gold quiver, greaves, a sword, a shield, and a gold larnax — a casket — holding his cremated bones. In the cool dark, the fresco that circles the tomb is astonishing: a hunting scene in colours so fresh they look painted yesterday, running horses, hunters with spears, a lion. Nothing quite prepares the eye for it. It is the closest thing to walking into the past that exists. The mound covers not one tomb but several: the Great Tumulus holds the tomb of Philip II, the tomb of Alexander IV (Alexander the Great's son), the tomb of Persephone with its great fresco of the goddess, and the royal tombs complex. Above ground, the site of ancient Aigai — the first capital of Macedon — spreads across the plain, its theatre and palaces still being excavated.

Vergina is the site of Aigai, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Macedon and the city where Philip II was assassinated in 336 BC and where his son Alexander was proclaimed king — the moment from which Alexander's conquest of the known world began. The city was one of the great centres of the Greek world, the home of the Macedonian kings for centuries. The Great Tumulus, a mound of earth some 100 metres across, covered the royal cemetery, and it was here that Andronikos in 1977 made one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century: an unlooted royal tomb which he identified as that of Philip II (r. 359–336 BC), father of Alexander the Great. The identification — based on the tomb's dating, the objects inside, and marks on the bones themselves (Philip was lame in one leg, and the skeleton shows the wound) — is now widely accepted. The tomb's treasures are staggering: the gold larnakes with the sixteen-rayed device usually identified as the Sun of Vergina, though that identification is modern rather than ancient, the gold oak wreath, the ivory-and-gold shield, the silver vessels, and the famous painted frieze of the royal hunt. The neighbouring tombs include the so-called Tomb of Persephone, with its magnificent wall-painting of the goddess and the underworld, and the tomb of Alexander IV. The royal palace of Aigai, one of the largest buildings of classical Greece, was also excavated nearby. The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 as the archaeological site of Vergina.

Vergina lies in the heart of Macedonia, a region of plains, rivers, and orchards, and the local food is the hearty, generous cooking of northern Greece. The great speciality is grilled meats — kontosouvli, souvlaki, and the slow-roasted lamb that Macedonian tavernas do so well — alongside bougatsa, the famous Thessaloniki pastry of phyllo filled with cream or cheese, and the local cheeses. The plains around Vergina grow peaches, apricots, and cotton, and the nearby hills produce excellent honey. Drink the local beer or a glass of wine from the vineyards of Naoussa — the Xinomavro grape, grown just to the north, makes one of Greece's greatest red wines. The town of Veria, 15 minutes away, has a fine old market and traditional tavernas; the small village of Vergina itself has a handful of places serving the Macedonian classics. And the raki that appears at the end of every meal is the local custom — accept it, it is hospitality.

Spring (April to June) and autumn (September to October) are ideal — the plains of Macedonia are green and pleasant, and the site is quiet. In summer it can be hot, but the museum is underground and cool, which makes Vergina an excellent midday stop. Winter can be cold and wet, but the site is usually open and almost empty. The light on the plain in the late afternoon, over the tumulus and the palace on its hill, is beautiful at any season.

Vergina lies 70 km from Thessaloniki, an easy run by car or bus that makes the site a straightforward day trip. The palace of Aigai, on the hill above, combines naturally with the same journey.

The underground museum is the entire experience — the tombs themselves are enclosed by it, so do not expect a walk through open ruins; the power of the place is in the descent and the darkness. Go early or late to have the chambers to yourself; the dim light and the silence are part of it. Allow two to three hours. The fresco of the royal hunt in the tomb of Philip II is 2,300 years old and in astonishing condition — take the time to study it; it is one of the finest surviving paintings of the classical world. The golden larnax is a reproduction; the original is in the museum display, and the effect is identical. And one more thing: when you stand before the tomb of Philip, remember that his son Alexander was proclaimed king in the theatre below, a young man of twenty, and that he never returned. The mound covers the end of one age and the beginning of another.