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Archaeological Site of Aigai (modern name Vergina)

Greece
Date of Inscription: 1996
Criteria: (i)(iii)
Prefecture of Imathia, Region of Central Macedonia
N40 28 17.004 E22 19 5.988
Ref: 780

Brief Description

The city of Aigai, the ancient first capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia, was discovered in the 19th century near Vergina, in northern Greece. The most important remains are the monumental palace, lavishly decorated with mosaics and painted stuccoes, and the burial ground with more than 300 tumuli, some of which date from the 11th century B.C. One of the royal tombs in the Great Tumulus is identified as that of Philip II, who conquered all the Greek cities, paving the way for his son Alexander and the expansion of the Hellenistic world.

Justification for Inscription

The Committee decided to inscribe the nominated property on the basis of cultural criteria (i) and (iii) considering that the site is of outstanding universal value representing an exceptional testimony to a significant development in European civilization, at the transition from classical city-state to the imperial structure of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. This is vividly demonstrated in particular by the remarkable series of royal tombs and their rich contents. The Committee decided to add to the proposed criteria cultural criterion (i), since the paintings found at Vergina are of extraordinarily high quality and historical importance.

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