The Eye Injury of King Philip II and the Skeletal Evidence from the Royal Tomb II at Vergina

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 288; no. 5465; pp. 511 - 514
• Main Author: Bartsiokas, Antonis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for the Advancement of Science 21-04-2000; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Antiquities; Bone and Bones - anatomy & histology; Bones; Burial - history; Cremation; Evidence; Eye Injuries - history; Eye Injuries - pathology; Famous Persons; Fractures, Bone - history; Fractures, Bone - pathology; Genetic mutation; Greece; Greece, Ancient; History of medicine; History, Ancient; Human remains; Human skeleton; Humans; Injuries; King Philip II; King Philip III Arrhidaeus; Male; Males; Mortuary Practice; Orbit - injuries; Orbital bone; Orbital fractures; Paleontology; Philip II, King of Macedonia (382-36 BC); Philip III (Philip Arrhidaeus) (323-17 BC); Physical trauma; Royalty; Skeleton; Skull; Skull - anatomy & histology; T lymphocytes; Tombs; Greece
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.288.5465.511

The Royal Tomb II was discovered in Vergina, Greece, in 1977. It contained a male skeleton and a rich array of grave goods. Evidence of trauma supposedly in the orbital bones of the skull has been thought to correspond to an eye injury that King Philip II is historically known to have suffered. However, reexamination of the orbital morphology showed no evidence of such pathology. Therefore, the skeleton does not belong to Philip II. New skeletal evidence shows that the skeleton belongs to King Philip III Arrhidaeus. In this case, the tomb may well contain some of the paraphernalia of Alexander the Great.