Where is Alexander the Great buried? The archaeological enigma of the tomb of the Macedonian ruler

The place of tomb of Alexander the Great (also known by its Greek name Soma“body”), Macedonian leader and conqueror (Pella, 356 BC – Babylon 333 BC) is still unknown today and is one of the most fascinating enigmas ofarcheology. Alexander died at the age of 33 years olda Babylonin circumstances not yet clarified after the military campaigns in Bactria, but to date the exact location remains of his tomb unknown. The only certainty is the generic location of the tomb it should be Alexandria, Egyptthat is, one of the most important cities he founded.

Where Alexander the Great was buried

According to the Latin historian of the 1st century. A.D Curzio Rufuswho however wrote many centuries later of the death of the Macedonian conqueror, Alexander’s last wish was to be buried in theSiwa oasisin Egypt, where there was the important sanctuary of the Egyptian god Amonwith which yes identified. Your generalwhich following the death of the sovereign yes they divided his empire, they began to argue for the possession of mummified corpsewhich could guarantee a huge prestige political precisely because of the symbol that Alexander had become in life.

Among Alexander’s successors the general prevailed Ptolemy (367-282 BC), which in the meantime he had become ruler of Egypt. In Syria, Ptolemy took over by force of the body while it was returning to the family tomb in Macedonia, and had it buried in Memphishistorical capital of pharaohsas if to strengthen the association between Alexander and the ancient rulers of Egypt (and so legitimize also his own power over the land of the Nile). After a few years, Ptolemy’s successors did transfer the body from Memphis to Alexandria, their capital. Here Alexander’s remains were buried inside a large mausoleumcalled in Greek Soma“the Body”, becoming the fulcrum of the worship of the conqueror, who came deified from the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Hypotheses on the location of the tomb

There placement exact of the sovereign’s mausoleum in Alexandria, whose appearance we are not clear about, it has been known for much of antiquity. In fact, ancient historians tell us how Caesar (100-44 BC) and later August (63 BC – 14 AD) had visited the grave. Other sources report that this was partially done desecrated from Cleopatra (69-31 BC), Caligula (12-41 AD) e Caracalla (188-217 AD), indirectly indicating to us that the location of the tomb was still known tobeginning of the 3rd century A.D

From this moment on, the memory of the exact location of Alexander’s mausoleum begins disperse amidst the mists of time. This should not surprise us: in the late empire many Roman cities began to change physiognomy and to suffer radical processes of urban renewalwhich sometimes caused the reuse or the destruction of the oldest monuments. Between the 4th and 5th centuries AD. historians provide us with information contradictory. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD) tells us how the tomb had been desecrated again by the Christian emperor Theodosius (347-395 AD), while on the contrary the contemporary John Chrysostom (344/354-407 AD) declares that the memory of the location of the mausoleum was vanished even among the population of Alexandria.

After the Arab conquest of Egypt in the 7th centurysome historians report that the place of the tomb was in Alexandria known during the Middle Agesand that this was still venerated by the local population. In this sense, we still have evidence until the beginning of the 17th century. In reality it is probable that the places described by Arab historians were other monuments of ancient Alexandria, interpreted as the tomb of the king of Macedonia by popular tradition.

Is Alessandro in Venice? No, it’s a hoax

Over the centuries many have boasted the success to have discovery the tomb of Alexander the Great, but without having any certain evidence. Archaeologists and historians, starting since the beginning of the 19th century (in conjunction with the great interest for history and culture Egyptian aroused by the Egyptian campaign of Napoleon some years earlier) they placed the tomb in the center of ancient Alexandria. In the 1850 a mummy found in crypt of a mosque was attributed to Alexander the Great by Ambroise Schilizzibut it wasn’t there no proof that it could be him. Over the years many have argued that instead of being buried in Alexandria, the sovereign’s body was buried in the family tomb in Macedoniaor in the Siwa oasisas per Alessandro’s instructions before his death.

In recent years a fascinating hypothesis has emerged but without solid scientific support. English Andrew Chugg recently suggested that the body of Alexander the Great may be found at Veniceinside the Basilica of San Marco. According to this theory, without broad supportthe Venetian merchants who in 9th century they stole from Alexandria the body of Saint Mark in reality they took Alexander’s body with them. This would be supported by the fact that the merchants interpreted as the saint’s resting place a tomb particularly venerated by the inhabitants of the city (perhaps that of the sovereign of Macedonia), and also because inside the Venetian basilica there is a fragment of a sarcophagus (note how slab of Santa Apollonia) bearing the star of Macedoniasymbol of the royal house to which Alexander belonged.

This stone fragment, initially dated to Alexander’s timethe 4th century. BC and believed to be of Hellenistic design, it was actually created in Aurisina stone (a rather valuable stone near Trieste) e it should date back to Roman timescertainly later than 2nd century B.C The use of the star of Macedonia in the iconographic apparatus of the slab would therefore not denote its belonging to Alexander, but the imperishable trace of his myth in posterity.