摘要：
希腊考古学家日前在希腊北部古城培拉附近发现了一个规模很大的古代墓穴。培拉是古希腊马其顿王国的首都，同时也是亚历山大大帝的出生地。
Archaeologists have unearthed a massive tomb in the northern Greek town of Pella, capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia and birthplace of Alexander the Great.

希腊考古学家日前在希腊北部古城培拉附近发现了一个规模很大的古代墓穴。培拉是古希腊马其顿王国的首都，同时也是亚历山大大帝的出生地。

据美联社2月12日报道，这是个拥有8间墓室的墓穴，其历史可以追溯到公元前4世纪至公元前2世纪的希腊化时期（Hellenistic Age）。同时，这也是迄今为止希腊境内发现的规模最大的此类墓穴。

从事挖掘工作的希腊考古学家称，这个面积达678平方英尺，在石头中开凿出来的墓穴是由当地一名农民在自己的土地上耕种时偶然发现的。墓穴挖掘工作的负责人玛丽亚·阿卡玛提对此表示："这是目前希腊境内发现的规模最大，同时也是最具历史意义的墓穴。"阿卡玛提还说，从墓穴的大小来看，它应该属于当时一个富有的马其顿家族。另外，由于墓穴内大部分的史前古器物放置散乱，因此考古学家认为它可能受到过抢劫者的光顾。

考古学家们还在该墓穴内发现了许多供奉用的粘土罐、泥偶，另外还有铜币和珠宝。他们相信，该墓穴能为人们了解亚历山大大帝东征后这段时期内马其顿王国的文化发展带来启迪。

报道说，相同时期内的类似墓穴此前曾在希腊克利特岛、塞浦路斯和埃及发现过。

相关：希腊化时期一般指公元前334-30年，又称希腊主义时期。这一时期从公元前334年马其顿王亚历山大东征波斯，到公元前30年罗马帝国灭亡埃及托勒密王朝，前后共300余年。

（国际在线独家资讯 王高山）

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Archaeologists have unearthed a massive tomb in the northern Greek town of Pella, capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia and birthplace of Alexander the Great.

The eight-chambered tomb dates to the Hellenistic Age between the fourth and second century B.C., and is the largest of its kind ever found in Greece. The biggest multichambered tombs until now contained three chambers.

The 678-square-foot tomb hewn out of rock was discovered by a farmer plowing his field on the eastern edge of the ancient cemetery of Pella, some 370 miles north of Athens, archaeologists said.

"This is the largest and most monumental tomb of its kind ever found in Greece," said Maria Akamati, who led the excavations.

Archaeologists believe the tomb - filled with dozens of votive clay pots and idols, copper coins and jewelry - will shed light on the culture of Macedonia in the period that followed Alexander's conquest of Asia.

Alexander's empire, which stretched from Greece to Asia, broke into separate kingdoms upon his death in 323 B.C., as his generals battled over the remains of the ancient world's greatest empire.

Similar tombs from the same era have been discovered on Crete, Cyprus and Egypt, which was ruled by a Greek dynasty founded by Ptolemy, Alexander's general.

The tomb's size suggests it belonged to a a wealthy Macedonian family, Akamati said.

The tomb, believed to have been used for two centuries, was probably plundered in antiquity as most of the artifacts were strewn by the entrance to the chambers, Akamati said.

The complex is dominated by a central area surrounded by eight chambers colored in red, blue and gold dyes. Three inscribed stone slabs inside bear the names of their female owners - Antigona, Kleoniki and Nikosrati. A relief on one of the slabs depicts a women and her servant.

The discovery was confirmed on Friday by a seniorarchaeologist responsible for the Pella site and will be presented at an Archaeological Conference in Thessaloniki that begins Thursday.

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