A fetching purple tunic found in an ancient tomb in Greece belonged to Alexander the Great, experts say.
The revered ceremonial garment – called ‘mesoleucon sarapis’ – was uncovered 47 years ago in one of three tombs at Vergina in northern Greece.
However, it was not found in the tomb of Alexander the Great himself, but rather his half-brother, Philip III of Macedon.
Academics say Philip III inherited the tunic after Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BC at the young age of 32.
Alexander the Great was a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece between 336 and 323 BC.
Today, he is considered one of history’s most successful military commanders, having conquered almost all parts of the world that were known to his people.
But unfortunately, the resting place of Alexander the Great himself still remains a mystery.
It’s generally agreed that he was originally buried in Egypt, but it is thought his body was moved to prevent looting.
Colorized illustration (after an engraving from Louis Figuier’s ‘Vies des Savants Illustres,’ circa 1867) depicts Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) (left) wearing the purple tunic as he is taught by Aristotle (384-322 BC)
The revered tunic is is in fragmentary state and many small pieces less than 6cm (2.3 inches). It’s pictured here in a sH๏τ from its discovery at 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 – found heavily fragmented – matches Alexander the Great’s revered purple and white ‘mesoleucon sarapis’ documented by history.
‘The physical description exactly fits the description in the ancient sources of the sacred Persian mesoleucon sarapis,’ he says in his study.
‘[It] belonged to Pharaoh and King Alexander the Great and as such it was the most precious object in antiquity.’
The tunic was found in ‘Tomb II’, one of three tombs uncovered by archeologists at 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 2.3 inches (6cm).
His new physical, chemical and microscopic analysis has revealed it is made up of a cotton textile dyed purple that was ‘only used for the elite’.
The luxury purple material sandwiches one or two layers of a whitish material made mainly of the mineral hunтιтe.
The tunic was found in ‘Tomb II’, one of three tombs uncovered by archeologists at Vergina in northern Greece in 1977
Pictured, the façade of Tomb II in Vergina, Greece, including the door made of marble. Professor Bartsiokas says Tomb II contained Alexander the Great’s half-brother, Philip III of Macedon
In the decades since its discovery, the tunic fragments have been misinterpreted by other academics.
They thought it might be a mask, ‘but there is not any mention of this in the ancient literary sources’, he told MailOnline.
While the resting place of Alexander the Great is unknown, researchers discovered three tombs at Vergina in 1977 – referred to as tombs I, II and III.
Remains of the tunic were uncovered in Tomb II along with several other artefacts including a scepter, oak wreath and diadem, all made of gold.
Tomb II belonged to Philip III of Macedon, Alexander the Great’s half-brother, rather than Alexander the Great himself.
Professor Bartsiokas claims that the treasures were inherited by Philip III following Alexander the Great’s death in Babylon in 323 BC.
Meanwhile, Tomb I contained Philip II, Alexander the Great’s father, while Tomb III contained Alexander IV, Alexander the Great’s son.
Professor Bartsiokas’ prior study revealed that two of the three family members had been caught up in a case of mistaken idenтιтy.
The forces of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) are depicted fighting those of the Indian rajah Porus (active 327-315 BC) on the banks of the River Hydaspes, (now the River Jhelum in Pakistan)
He identified Tomb I as containing Alexander the Great’s father (Philip II) and Tomb II to contain Philip III of Macedon – not the other way around as previously ᴀssumed.
Tomb I also contained the remains of a woman and a baby, who the he says are Philip II’s young wife Cleopatra and their newborn child.
Professor Bartsiokas agrees that this should’ve been a ‘giveaway’, but instead scholars got her idenтιтy wrong for decades.
‘They speculated the female was Euridice [Philip III’s wife] but they did not offer any explanation for the newborn,’ he told MailOnline.
‘It is a well-established fact in the ancient sources that Cleopatra was ᴀssᴀssinated along with her newborn child.’
Crucially, documents reveal Philip II of Macedon suffered a severe traumatic injury to the left knee, which the skeletal evidence corroborated.
What’s more, Philip II was known to have an eye injury that blinded him, but there were no signs of this from 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.
