Greek Archaeologist Claims He Found Aristotle’s Tomb At Stagira
- by XpatAthens
- Thursday, 02 June 2016
A Greek archaeologist, who has been excavating Ancient Stagira in central Macedonia for the last 20 years, has claimed he found the tomb of Aristotle. At a conference in Thessaloniki to commemorate the 2,400th anniversary of Aristotle’s birth, the archaeologist, Konstantinos Sismanidis, said he was almost certain that what he found was Aristotle’s tomb.
Even though Sismanidis and his team have no definitive proof that what they found is Aristotle’s tomb, there are strong characteristics that led them to believe this was in fact the tomb. The characteristics include the location and panoramic view, its position at the center of a square marble floor, and the time of its construction, which started at the beginning of the Hellenistic period. The tomb, according to Sismanidis, was built in honor of Aristotle after his death in 322 B.C.
In addition to finding the tomb, Sismanidis and his team of archaeologists have also found the altar referred to in ancient texts and the road that leads to the tomb.
Another excavation that took place in 2014 in Amphipolis, northern Greece, led to the discovery of the largest ancient tomb ever found in Greece. There was speculation that the tomb belonged to Alexander the Great, Aristotle’s most famous student, but later evidence showed that the tomb had probably been built for a close companion of the king and conqueror.
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