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Archeologists thought an excavation site was just a military outpost–but after further study, they realized it was actually an entire ancient city.
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Artifacts found at the site date the city back to Alexander the Great’s lifetime, though some experts suggest humans may have occupied the area as early as the Bronze Age.
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The ancient city might be the lost capital city Lyncus—birthplace to Alexander the Great’s grandmother, according to a press release.
Just like scientific hypotheses are ever-evolving, so is our understanding of history. 15 years ago, researchers began excavating what they thought were the remains of a military outpost, built to guard against Roman attacks—but their recent findings prove to be much more exciting. The site in Northern Macedonia, known as the archaeological site of Gradishte, might actually be an entire ancient city. And not just any city; it may have a direct connection to the lineage of Alexander the Great.
Using advanced drone-deployed LiDAR and ground penetrating radar technologies, researchers from Macedonia’s Institute and Museum–Bitola and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt) are uncovering the mysteries of this once thriving city. The team announced their findings in a university press release.
“We’re only beginning to scratch the surface of what we can learn about this period,” Engin Nasuh—curator-advisor archaeologist at the National Institute and Museum–Bitola—said in the press release.
Ancient Macedonia was a small, initially insignificant kingdom in Greece. Fighting among major powers in the region—such as between the Athenians and Persians or the Spartans and Athenians, respectively—made it easy for Macedonia (under the heavy hand of King Philip II to stake its claim to power. The kingdom eventually expanded into an empire, most notably under Philip II’s son, Alexander the Great, but eventually fell under Roman control due to internal power struggles.
According to the release, experts initially dated the city back to King Philip V’s reign (221-179 B.C.), but later archaeological findings pushed estimates further back. A coin minted between 325 and 323 B.C. points to the city’s existence during Alexander the Great’s lifetime. But other artifacts including axe fragments and ceramic vessels have led researchers to believe humans could have inhabited the area as far back as the Bronze Age (3,300-1,200 B.C.).
Of the structures uncovered at the site, a Macedonian-style theater and textile workshop are among the most notable. Archaeologists have also discovered coins, axes and textile tools, game pieces, pottery, and even a clay theater ticket at the site, suggesting that the area was a thriving city before Rome’s rise to power, according to Nasuh.
“This discovery is significant,” Cal Poly Humboldt archaeology professor Nick Angeloff said in the release. “It highlights the complex networks and power structures of ancient Macedonia, especially given the city’s location along trade routes to Constantinople. It’s even possible that historical figures like Octavian and Agrippa passed through the area on their way to confront Cleopatra and Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium.”
Experts also suggest that the ancient city could be Lyncus, the lost capital of the Kingdom of Lyncestis—an autonomous kingdom in Upper Macedonia that was later conquered by Philip II. The city may have also been the birthplace of Alexander the Great’s grandmother, Queen Eurydice I, who played an important role in shaping the political landscape of the region, according to the release.
“All these studies are just a small part of the research of early European civilizations,” Nasuh said. “I see it as a large mosaic, and our studies are just a few pebbles in that mosaic. With each subsequent study, a new pebble is placed, until one day we get the entire picture.”
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