The Identification of the Sacred “Chiton” (Sarapis) of Pharaoh Alexander the Great in Tomb II at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece

Abstract

An unidentified material was found in the Royal Tomb II of Vergina, Greece within the golden ossuary (larnax) with the bones of the male occupant and his golden wreath. Physical, chemical, and microscopic analyses showed that it is a cotton textile dyed purple which sandwiches one or two layers of a whitish material made mainly of the mineral huntite. The presence of cotton is especially significant, as it downdates Tomb II. The physical description exactly fits the description in the ancient sources of the sacred Persian mesoleucon sarapis which belonged to Pharaoh and King Alexander the Great and as such it was the most precious object in antiquity. This sarapis is also depicted in the frieze of Tomb II on the sixth hunter, identified as Alexander. The Persian gazelle, depicted in the frieze also downdates Tomb II. Thus, many of the artifacts in Tomb II belonged to Alexander the Great.