ANCIENT AEGAI, Greece (AP) – It is the largest building in classical Greece and the palace where Alexander the Great was proclaimed king before he began his conquests that led to modern-day Afghanistan.
The Aigai Palace in northern Greece fully reopened on Friday after a 16-year renovation that cost more than 20 million euros ($22 million) and included financial support from the European Union.
The castle was built more than 2,300 years ago during the reign of Philip II, father of Alexander, who turned the Kingdom of Macedonia into the leading military power of ancient Greece. Aigai was its royal capital.
“After many years of painstaking work, we can open the palace to the public… What we are doing today is an event of global significance,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Friday at the grounds. The statement was made at the inauguration event.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (centre) visits the Aigai Palace, built over 2,300 years ago during the reign of Alexander the Great's father. It has since fully reopened at ancient Aigai, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of the port city. Thessaloniki, Northern Greece, Friday, January 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yannis Papanikos)
The palace contained courtyards bordered by columns, courtyards, places of worship, and spacious ballrooms, with floors decorated with patterned marble and intricate mosaics. The building's footprint was 15,000 square meters (160,000 square feet), just below the area of the U.S. Capitol.
The Aigai Palace, shaped like two adjacent square donuts of different sizes, was the administrative and spiritual center of the kingdom. The palace ruins and nearby royal tombs are located in an area adjacent to the modern village of Vergina, a United Nations World Heritage Site. The marble pillar was revived like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle by fitting stone pieces excavated from the ruins and replica replacement parts.
Aigai Palace was built over 2,300 years ago during the reign of Alexander the Great's father. It is seen from the air after being fully reopened at ancient Aigai, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki. , Friday, January 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yannis Papanikos)
Aigai, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki, attracted international attention in the late 1970s during excavations of burial mounds in the lush, rolling hills dotted with wild poppies and daffodils. Ta.
The late Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos led the excavation, which uncovered a royal tomb and recovered a gold coffin, other gold artefacts, and bones widely believed to belong to Philip II. . These discoveries revealed the sophistication of the ancient Macedonians, who were often sidelined from historical accounts in favor of Athens.
The Aigai Palace, built more than 2,300 years ago during the reign of Alexander the Great's father, can be seen on Friday after it was fully reopened in ancient Aigai, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki. , January 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yannis Papanikos)
Angeliki Kottaridi was still an archeology student at university when he joined the project as a young assistant. She dedicated her life's work to the excavations, and decades later she was the driving force behind the restoration of Aigai's new museum and palace, which opened a year ago.
She retired as head of the region's archaeological services on Dec. 31 and was honored at a ceremony on Friday.
“What we found were stones scattered in the soil and fragments of mosaics here and there,” Kotaridi told state television ahead of Friday's inauguration ceremony.
“Then you have to put things together. That's the real fun for researchers,” Kottaliliddy said. “So, if you ask me what makes me happy, I would say it's not the moment when something becomes clear to me. It's the moment when I realize that I can take my knowledge one step further.”
The renovated site will be open to the public on Sunday.
