AMPHIPOLIS, Greece — Scientists have opened the second phase of their excavation of a vast burial mound in Amphipolis, searching for more tombs and remains. The first search of the site, which was built up shortly after Alexander the Great's death in the fourth century B.C., turned up a tomb containing a skeleton.
Greek Culture Minister Costas Tasoulas visited the burial mound in northern Greece on Saturday to announce the new phase of the exploration. Geophysicists are scanning the site to see if there are other structures besides the three-chamber tomb discovered in August. Meanwhile, archaeologists are uncovering multicolored decorations on the door frames, or architraves, inside the dug-up tomb. Lasers will be used to study them, said Lina Mendoni, the culture ministry's general secretary. One of the project's next goals is to determine the gender and age of the skeleton found in the tomb. Experts have speculated that the skeleton may have been that of Alexander's mother, widow, son, half-brother, or Nearchos, one of Alexander's closest aides.
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