Alexander The Great’s tunic uncovered at ancient burial site — a few millennia after the fact
What a Great find.
New archeological research has uncovered a piece of cloth with a “physical description [that] exactly fits” a tunic worn by the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great.
It consists of “a cotton textile dyed purple which sandwiches one or two layers of a whitish material made mainly of the mineral huntite,” according to the study, published in the Journal of Field Archaeology.
The new discovery from the circa 330 BC ruler, found in Greece’s ancient Royal Tombs at Vergina, has helped the dedicated diggers learn more about the burial locations of Alexander’s relatives.
Similarities between Alexander’s wardrobe and a frieze, known better as a long etching on its wall, assisted the scientists in distinguishing the clothing’s identity.
“Ancient sources describe a medium white tunic, and this one matches with their descriptions,” researcher Dr. Antonis Bartsiokas told Greek Reporter.
“If we examine the way they depict it in the frieze of Tomb II, we can see that the painting shows the tunic with two white lines. This corresponds perfectly with the layers of the material found inside the coffin,” he expalined.
Tomb II is the burial site of half-brother Phillip III Arrhidaeus — the trusted general was buried with some of his sibling’s belongings, as the spoils of the former ruler were split up after his death.
The question of the tunic has been something debated within the scientific community since 1977 as skeletal remains had not made it clear, according to the archeologist.
