New data indicate Amphipolis tomb built for Alexander the Great's close friend

A monogram of Hephaestion, one of the closest friends of Alexander the Great, was found at the impressive burial site unearthed at the ancient city of Amphipolis in northern Greece in the summer of 2014, head of the excavation team said Wednesday.

Katerina Peristeri, head of the excavation team, made the announcement at an archaeological conference in the nearby city of Thessaloniki, shedding more light to the mystery of the owner of the tomb.

As the state funding of the excavations has stopped since January this year and after a long time of silence, Peristeri revealed that the archaeologists found three inscriptions which they believe were contracts for the construction of the fourth century BC burial monument. On these inscriptions archaeologists discovered the monogram of Hephaestion.

According to Michalis Lefantzis, an architect who heads a team of experts involved in the excavation of the Amphipolis, Alexander the Great ordered the construction of the magnificent tomb to his architect and technical advisor Dinocrates of Rhodes as he wanted to dedicate it to his closest friend.

Peristeri added that archaeologists have unearthed finds which were marked with Dinocrates' seal.

Hephaestion was a Macedonian nobleman and a general in the army of Alexander the Great.

As a member of Alexander the Great's personal guard, he was entrusted with many tasks throughout Alexander's 10-year campaign in Asia.

The Amphipolis burial site complex was a public work which was constructed with the largest quantity of marble used for tombs in Macedonia, according to the Greek experts. The tomb had a total height of 33 meters and a 500 meters' marble perimeter.

All the exquisite discoveries, from the sculpted five-meter-high lion, the two dazzling Caryatids, the two sphinxes at the entrance of the site and a mosaic depicting, according to archaeologists, the abduction of Persephone, a daughter of God Zeus in ancient Greek mythology, strengthened scenarios that the tomb's occupant was a very important figure and from Alexander's close environment.

Greek and foreign experts have argued that the main occupant could be Alexander the Great's mother, wife or son.

In January this year Peristeri had announced that archaeologists found bone fragments belonging to at least five persons in the tomb and a more detailed forensic study would take several months.

The Amphipolis tomb, the largest ever tomb discovered in Greece, attracted global attention for its uniqueness and provoked political controversy in the country as well.

The now ruling Radical Left SYRIZA party which took over after January's general elections and was reelected in the Sept. 20 early elections, has criticized the previous conservative-led government of "exploiting" the dig for political gain.

In March this year the Greek Ministry of Culture announced that the archaeological dig would not receive further funding for excavations, but only an amount of money for safeguarding the Amphipolis site until further notice. Enditem