Armchair archaeologists have been buzzing over a mysterious 2,300-year-old tomb at Amphipolis in northern Greece, which was apparently built for an important personage from the time of Alexander the Great. Now you can take a virtual stroll through Amphipolis' tomb chambers, or twist and turn an online 3-D model.
So far, Greek archaeologists have unearthed a pair of battered marble sphinxes that guarded the underground tomb's entrance and two bigger-than-life statues of Caryatid maidens guarding another passageway. Those wonders are re-created in Amfipolis News' virtual walk-through as well as Greek Toys' 3-D model — and as more discoveries are made, they'll be added to the replicas in cyberspace. Most recently, the Greek Culture Ministry reported finding fragments of a marble door, carved in a style that confirmed the link to Alexander's era in the late fourth century B.C. So who was entombed there? Probably not Alexander — and certainly not his father, Macedonian King Philip II. Greek researchers say they've confirmed that Philip's bones were laid in a tomb at Vergina, 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Amphipolis.
IN-DEPTH
- Get a Full Frontal View of Amphipolis Statues
- Tudor-Era Tombs Digitally Rebuilt in 3-D
- Tour Egypt's Pyramids With Google Maps
SOCIAL
— Alan Boyle
Tip o' the Log to Jean-Charles Varlet (@thecatishappy), PhDiva Dorothy King and Discovery News' Rossella Lorenzi. If necessary, use your Web browser's automatic translation feature for Greek-language websites.