New Tomb for Father of Alexander the Great – The New York Times

Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, may be buried in a different tomb than was previously thought.

A new study relying on the scanning and radiography of skeletal remains suggests that of the three tombs found on the Great Tumulus hill in the northern Greek town of Vergina, the king is likely to be buried in what is known as Tomb 1, not Tomb 2. The study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Philip II sustained a lance-inflicted leg wound three years before he was slain in 336 BCE. Tomb 1 contains an approximately 45-year-old individual with a hole near the knee, suggesting a piercing wound accompanied by inflammation and bone fusion. Tomb 1 also contains the remains of an 18-year-old female and a 42-week-old infant; these are thought to be the king’s wife and their child, both slain shortly after his death.