Historys Mysteries: The tomb of Alexander the Great

Sabah Moghul
History 134
Professor Thompson
11/5/16

Historys Mysteries: The Tomb of Alexander the Great

One of historys greatest mysteries is the tomb of Alexander the Great. Alexander the
Great was a Macedonian King, who took after his late father Philip II. Up until he was 16 years
old, he was tutored by the philosopher Aristotle. When Alexander the Great was 18 he was the
Commander of the Companion Cavalry. He helped his father defeat the Athenian and Theban
armies at Chaeronia. After his father passed, Alexander the Great became kind and was able to
conquer many lands, including Persia and Egypt. He passed away when he was just 32 from
malaria. Till this day, Alexander the Great is considered one of the best military geniuses and one
of the most powerful rulers to have ever lived.
It is said that Alexander the Greats tomb was one of the biggest tourist attractions of the
ancient world. Roman emperors including Pompey, Julius Caesar, and Caligula traveled to
Alexandria to pay their respects. Although it is said that Alexander the Greats tomb was so
spectacular, how come there is no record of where exactly it is? This is the main mystery behind
the tomb of Alexander the Great. i
Many scholars have researched of Alexander the Great and disputed about the location of the
sacred and great tomb. In an article published by Archaeological Institute of America, Robert
Steven Bianchi discusses how the Soucaltzis claimed to have found it in Siwa Oasis which is
located in Egypt. The reason they claim that his tomb could be there is because Alexander the
Great had visited Siwa on a quest to go se the famous oracle of the god Ammon. The Souvaltzis
searched and searched and followed the new leads that they thought they had and found the
Oracle Temple. They tried to claim that the Oracle Temple was the tomb of Alexander the Great
but many scholars proved their findings to be wrong. ii

An article by Haskett Smith argues that the lost tomb is located in Sidon, which is now in
Lebanon. A piece of land located between two villages close to the Mediterranean Sea is where
Smith believes the tomb is located. The owner of the piece of land wanted to begin construction
on it but was stopped because of what his workmen found. They came across a rectangular put
cut out of the solid rock that concerned them. The dimensions of the cut out rectangular were 16
by 15 and went below the ground about 36 feet. There were chambers below the ground, all with
smooth white marble, and a couple of coffins. There were many different sections of this tomb, a
couple appeared to have been tampered with before the workmen had discovered it. There was
one tomb that was discovered which was located directly beneath all of the other tombs, that
hadn't been discovered until about five years later. The reason that Smith believed that this was
the infamous tomb of Alexander the Great, was because the face of the mummy matched the face
stamped on the Alexander the Great coins. iii
In the book The Royal Macedonian Tombs and the Paraphernalia of Alexander the Great,
Borza believed that the tomb was located in Vergina, which is a small town located in northern
Greece. The reason that he believed this is because the tomb held ceramic objects that were
named as Athenian Artifacts after the time of Phillip IIs death. Because the objects were dated
around the time of Alexander the Great, there is no way that the tomb could belong to Phillip II,
or Cleopatra. This tomb was a lot larger than most Macedonian tombs which also added to his
theory about this tomb being Alexander the Greats tomb. A lion hunting scene was displayed on
one of the walls which is something Alexander the Great was known for. He helped to create the
royal sport of lion hunting. iv

Overall, the mystery of where exactly the tomb of Alexander the Great remains a mystery.
Through all of the research I did, I believe that the tomb in Greece was the tomb of Alexander
the Great because of the evidence found in the tomb; the lion scene, the size, the artifacts, etc.
The evidence in the tomb in Greece was much more clear then the evidence for the other
supposed tombs. We may never know where exactly the tomb of Alexander the Great lies, but
the evidence that it was located in Greece was much stronger than those in Lebanon and in
Egypt.

Works Cited
Bianchi, Robert Steven. Alexander's Tomb...Not! Archaeology, vol. 48, no. 3, 1995, pp. 5860.
www.jstor.org/stable/41770683.
-This source discusses the theory of where Alexander the Greats tomb is said to be located,
Egypt.

Borza, E. N. The Royal Macedonian Tombs and the Paraphernalia of Alexander the Great.
Phoenix, vol. 41, no. 2, 1987, pp. 105121. www.jstor.org/stable/1088739.
-This source discusses the theory of where Alexander the Greats tomb is said to be located,
northern Greece.
History.com Staff. "Alexander the Great." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web.
11 Nov. 2016.
-This source discusses Alexander the Great as a young boy and a ruler.
SMITH, HASKETT. "THE TOMB OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT." The Eclectic Magazine of
Foreign Literature (1844-1898) 03 1893: 349. ProQuest. Web. 11 Nov. 2016 .
-This source discusses the theory of where Alexander the Greats tomb is said to be located,
Lebanon.

i history.com. The information from this paragraph was gathered from this source.

ii Bianchi. The information from this paragraph was gathered from this source.

iii Smith. The information from this paragraph was gathered from this source.

iv Borza. The information from this paragraph was gathered from this source.