Top 10 Mysterious Burial Sites

Archaeology often raises many questions, and it often manages to overturn or redefine conventional thinking. From the ancient and elaborate tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs, to the discovery of a few scattered bones in a small crypt, the bodies of those-long dead continue to stir debate and inspire various interpretations of who those people may have been and what sort of lives they may have led. Below, in no particular order, are 10 examples of tombs that are surrounded by mystery, controversy and even myth.

10

Vergina, Greece

This tomb, found at the ancient Macedonian capital of Aigia, has been the subject of intense debate for over 30 years. Does this tomb contain the remains of Alexander the Great’s father, the warrior king Phillip II? Or, are they the remains of Phillip III, poisoned and weakened at a young age by Alexander’s jealous mother, Olympia? While the style of the artifacts in the tomb dates to 316 BC, a generation after the death of Phillip II, in 336 BC, recent facial reconstruction (pictured) shows an injury consistent with the one received by Phillip II at Methone in 355BC; such a wound is unlikely to have been received by the weak Phillip III.

9

Glastonbury Abbey

Legend tells us that after being wounded by Mordred, King Arthur was taken across the water to the Isle of Avalon. As it was still an island in the early centuries of the first millennia, a boat would have been needed to take the mortally wounded king to the only medical help available, Glastonbury Abbey. An ancient Welsh bard told of Arthur being buried deep below the earth there.

In 1191, monks digging in this spot found a stone. Beneath it was a leaden cross with the inscription “His iacet inclitus Arturius in insula Avalonia” – interpreted to read “Here lies King Arthur buried in Avalon.” The coffin contained two corpses: those of a man and a woman. The bodies were believed to be those of Arthur and Guinevere, but both remain lost following vandalism after the dissolution of the abbey, in 1539.