Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai

Underground museum inside the great burial mound, with Philip II's gold larnax

The Museum of the Royal Tombs is built inside the Great Tumulus itself — a vast artificial mound originally raised over the burials of the Macedonian royal family. Visitors descend into a darkened, climate-controlled space where the original tomb facades, sealed for over two thousand years, are still in situ behind glass, and the grave goods are displayed in cases around them.

The headline objects are the two gold larnakes from Tomb II, the gold oak-leaf wreath, the ivory portraits, the ceremonial armour and the painted hunting scene above the tomb's doorway. The atmosphere — dim lighting, low ceilings, the bulk of the mound overhead — adds enormously to the impact. Allow at least two hours; this is one of the most important museums in Greece. The site is open year-round but expect summer crowds; arrive early.

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A story
When archaeologist Manolis Andronikos opened Tomb II in November 1977, he found it sealed and untouched — extraordinary for any royal tomb, almost unimaginable for a Macedonian one. Inside the antechamber sat a gold larnax holding a woman's bones; in the main chamber, a second larnax bore the bones of a man buried with a gold oak-leaf crown, gilded greaves and an ivory portrait identified as Philip II.