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Who Is Buried In the Largest Tomb Ever Found In Northern Greece?
schwit1 writes Excitement continues to build as archaeologists dig deeper into a massive tomb discovered two years ago in northern Greece. "This past weekend the excavation team, led by Greek archaeologist Katerina Peristeri, announced the discovery of two elegant caryatids—large marble columns sculpted in the shape of women with outstretched arms—that may have been intended to bar intruders from entering the tomb's main room. "I don't know of anything quite like them," says Philip Freeman, a professor of classics at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. The curly-haired caryatids are just part of the tomb's remarkable furnishings. Guarding the door as sentinels were a pair of carved stone sphinxes, mythological creatures with the body of a lion and the head of a human. And when archaeologists finally entered the antechamber, they discovered faded remnants of frescoes as well as a mosaic floor made of white marble pieces inlaid in a red background." Archaeologists believe this tomb is connected somehow to Alexander the Great and could very well be the burial site of one of his relatives or close allies.
There's no minimum time, just how long anybody is willing to protect the sanctity of the tomb. For example, if it's a king, then his subjects are probably willing to stop and prosecute anyone who's trying to open the tomb for a few generations after, probably until the kingdom gets destroyed even. If it's you, then you get dug up about 50 years after they bury you, so somebody else gets to putrefy in your cemetery spot.
Archeological research can get a boost from media coverage just like any other endeavor. Do you really expect that they're going to let the first bozo with a camera let all that hype potential go to waste? Expect press conferences and specials on TV. For example, this could be a great fundraiser for PBS.
Wake up, it's the 21st century. Publicity is golden, no one in their right mind lets an opportunity like this fizzle out.
Why is Snark Required?
No one is 'buried' in this tomb, or even Grant's tomb. A tomb by definition is an above ground structure, and to be buried one must be beneath the ground.
You can't be ahead of the curve, if you're stuck in a loop.
A tomb is a "structurally enclosed burial chamber". Underground burial vaults or crypts are included in that category, as well as tombs cut out in rock. Merriam-Webster even lists it as "an excavation in which a corpse is buried".
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...