Manolis Andronikos discovers the grave of Philip II at Vergina

Monolis Andronikos himself recounted his findings: "I held the small shovel I carried with me since 1952 and dug into the hole, impatiently, under the keystone of the arch. My colleagues were all around me. (…) I kept digging, and I was sure. The stone in the west wall was in situ, undisturbed, solid. (…) It is intact, sealed! I was delighted. I had discovered the first unplundered Macedonian tomb.  At the moment, I was not interested in anything else. That night -like all the following nights- I could not sleep for more than two or three hours. Around midnight, I got into the car and went to make sure the guards were there. I did the same at 2 am and at 5 am. I was sure that inside the sarcophagus, there would be a nice surprise."

The rest is history! Inside the sarcophagus, there was a solid gold funerary urn. On its lid, there was an impressive 16-ray star with a central rosette. Inside the urn, there were incinerated bones and a gold wreath of oak leaves folded and placed on top of the bones.