A cloth fragment discover in a royal tomb in Greece can be the remains of a tunic once worn by Alexander the Great, according to recent claims by Professor Emeritus Antonis Bartsiokas of Democritus University of Thrace.
Find in a tomb near Vergina, a site historically tied to Macedonian royalty, this garment is now believe by Emeritus Antonis Bartsiokas to have belong not to Alexander’s father, Philip II, as previously thought, but to Alexander’s half-brother Philip III Arrhidaeus.
Arrhidaeus assume the title of king after Alexander’s death, though his capacity to rule was limit by a mental disability.
The discovery was publish in Journal of Field Archaeology.
The discovery of the garment was made in 1977 within a gold chest in a tomb traditionally associate with Philip II.
But, Bartsiokas argues that this tomb actually houses the remains of Arrhidaeus and his wife, Eurydice, basing his conclusion on historical records, wall art in the tomb, and an analysis of the garment itself.
The tunic, he asserts, may have originally belong to Alexander but was pass down to Arrhidaeus upon Alexander’s death, symbolising continuity within the royal lineage.
Testing by other scholars had previously shown that the cloth, dye purple and containing layers of cotton and huntite, resemble garments worn by Persian kings, adding weight to Bartsiokas argument.
Experts have respond with varied opinions on Bartsiokas’ claims.
Senior researcher Hariclia Brecoulaki of Greece’s National Hellenic Research Foundation disputed Bartsiokas identification of the garment as a tunic, suggesting instead that it more closely resembles a scarf use to wrap bones.
Also, Athanasia Kyriakou, director of the Vergina excavation project at Aristotle University, said that Bartsiokas had not directly examine the materials and criticise the findings as speculative.
Other scholars gives cautious support.
Professor Susan Rotroff, a classics scholar at Washington University in St. Louis, find Bartsiokas conclusions plausible, noting that the garment’s cotton fibres align with a timeline after Alexander’s Persian conquests.
Richard Janko, a classical studies professor at the University of Michigan, describe the research as intriguing but emphasise that the cotton may have reach Greece through trade routes accessible to Philip II.
The debate over the identity of the tomb’s occupants continues, but Bartsiokas hypothesis has spur renew discussion on the artefacts and their historical significance in connection with Alexander the Great.
