The lost TUNIC of Alexander the Great is found after 2,300 years: Scientists confirm that the purple and white garment found in the Royal Tombs of Vergina belonged to the ancient king
An appealing purple tunic found in an ancient tomb in Greece belonged to Alexander the Great, experts say.
The venerated ceremonial garment β ββcalled ‘mesoleucon sarapis’ β was discovered 47 years ago in one of three tombs in Vergina in northern Greece.
However, it was not found in the tomb of Alexander the Great himself, but rather in his half-brother, Philip III of Macedon.
Academics say that Philip III inherited the tunic after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC at the age of 32.
Alexander the Great was a king of Macedonia, a state in northern ancient Greece between 336 and 323 BC.
Today he is considered one of the most successful military commanders in history, having conquered almost all parts of the world known to his people.
But unfortunately, the resting place of Alexander the Great itself still remains a mystery.
It is generally agreed that he was originally buried in Egypt, but it is believed that his body was moved to avoid looting.
Colored illustration (from an engraving from Louis Figuier’s ‘Vies des Savants Illustres’, circa 1867) shows Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) (left) wearing the purple tunic as taught by Aristotle ( 384-322 BC)
The revered tunic is in fragmentary condition, containing many small pieces measuring less than 6 cm (2.3 in). It is pictured here in a shot of its discovery in Vergina in 1977
The new study was led by Antonios Bartsiokas, professor of anthropology at the Democritus University of Thrace in Greece.
He thinks the tunic from the tomb β found heavily fragmented β matches Alexander the Great’s venerated purple-and-white ‘mesoleucon sarapis’, documented by history.
“The physical description exactly matches the description in the ancient sources of the sacred Persian mesoleucon sarapis,” he says in his studies.
‘(It) belonged to Pharaoh and King Alexander the Great and as such was the most precious object of antiquity.’
The tunic was found in ‘Tomb II’, one of three tombs uncovered by archaeologists in Vergina in northern Greece in 1977.
Professor Bartsiokas says the tunic was found at the time in a ‘fragmentary state’ with many pieces smaller than 6cm.
His new physical, chemical and microscopic analysis has shown that it consists of purple-dyed cotton textiles that were ‘used only for the elite’.
The luxurious purple material includes one or two layers of whitish material, made mainly of the mineral huntite.
The tunic was found in ‘Tomb II’, one of three tombs uncovered by archaeologists in Vergina in northern Greece in 1977.
Pictured: The facade of Tomb II in Vergina, Greece, including the marble door. Professor Bartsiokas says that Tomb II contained Alexander the Great’s half-brother, Philip III of Macedon
In the decades since their discovery, the tunic fragments have been misinterpreted by other academics.
They thought it might be a mask, “but there is no mention of that in the ancient literary sources,” he told MailOnline.
Although the resting place of Alexander the Great is unknown, in 1977 researchers discovered three tombs in Vergina β Tombs I, II and III.
Remains of the tunic were discovered in Tomb II, along with several other artifacts, including a sceptre, oak wreath and diadem, all made of gold.
Tomb II belonged to Philip III of Macedon, half-brother of Alexander the Great, and not to Alexander the Great himself.
Professor Bartsiokas claims that the treasures were inherited by Philip III after the death of Alexander the Great in Babylon in 323 BC.
Meanwhile, Tomb I contained Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, while Tomb III contained Alexander IV, son of Alexander the Great.
Previous research by Professor Bartsiokas showed that two out of three family members were involved in a case of mistaken identity.
The forces of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) are depicted fighting those of the Indian Raja Porus (active 327-315 BC) on the banks of the Hydaspes River (now the River Jhelum in Pakistan)
He identified that Tomb I contained Alexander the Great’s father (Philip II) and Tomb II contained Philip III of Macedon – and not the other way around as previously believed.
Tomb I also contained the remains of a woman and a baby, believed to be Philip II’s young wife Cleopatra and their newborn child.
Professor Bartsiokas agrees that this should have been a “giveaway,” but instead scientists have misunderstood her identity for decades.
“They speculated that the female was Euridice (Philip III’s wife), but they did not give any explanation for the newborn,” he told MailOnline.
‘It is an established fact in the ancient sources that Cleopatra was murdered together with her newborn child.’
Crucially, documents reveal that Philip II of Macedon suffered a severe traumatic injury to the left knee, which the skeletal evidence confirmed.
Furthermore, Philip II was known to have had an eye injury that blinded him, but no signs of this were found in the remains in Tomb II.
Unfortunately, there were no signs of the damaged eye in Tomb I either, as that part of the skull has not been preserved.