Amphipolis archaeological study misses out on funding

Three-and-a-half years after archaeologists brought to light a tomb dating to the era of Alexander the Great near Amphipolis in Macedonia, northern Greece, work related to the mysterious burial site appears to have come to a standstill.

In 2015 the conservative government earmarked 236,000 euros for a two-year anthropological study, but the contract expired last summer before any action was taken, Kathimerini reports.

The study was to have involved an analysis of some 1,000 bone fragments found in the broader Amphipolis area. Scientists were then to try to match them to the five skeletons discovered inside the 4th century BC tomb. Experts have so far only conducted a macroscopic survey of the skeletal material found inside the grave.

The suspension of the archaeological study has raised questions about the leftist-led government’s policy toward the monument.

It is not known when or even if the analysis will ever take place. The bone remains are currently stored at the Amphipolis Museum.