One of two female figures serving as supports, or caryatids, stands inside the Kasta Tumulus tomb on Sept. 7 in Amphipolis, northern Greece. The 7 foot-tall stone maidens guard a mysterious tomb that dates to the age of Alexander the Great. (Photo: Greek Ministry of Culture via AFP/Getty Images)
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ATHENS — Athenians, Spartans, Macedonians, Persians and Romans once marched through Amphipolis in northern Greece thousands of years ago.
Today, armies of politicians, journalists and archaeologists have occupied the small town after diggers recently unearthed a massive tomb guarded by a pair of carved stone sphinxes and two caryatids, or sculptured female figures, a few miles outside the town center.
"I don't know who the tomb is hiding, but I really like that everyone is talking about this," said Nikoletta Stavroulaki, 29, an unemployed Greek who is captivated by the archaeological site's progress. "Historians from around the world are expressing different opinions, and I'm following all this. This creates amazing suspense."
With a perimeter of about 1,600 feet, the design of the massive tomb discovered two months ago suggests an important leader was buried there, leaving some to wonder whether it is the resting place of Alexander the Great.
Greek TV stations have been conducting live broadcasts from the dig, updating their audiences on the excavation's daily schedule. Meanwhile, newspapers have splashed paparazzi-style photos of lead archaeologist Katerina Peristeri on their front pages.
Peristeri, who has been digging at the site for two years, has repeatedly stressed she hasn't found conclusive evidence suggesting who might be in the tomb, and she believes it was likely built after Alexander died in Babylon around 323 B.C.
Judging from the caryatids' dress, University of Athens archaeologist Olga Palagia believes the tomb dates from the Roman era. Due to its size, she thought it was likely a monument to an event that occurred near ancient Amphipolis.
"An excavation is dated by the things the excavators find inside, first from the ceramics and secondly from the inscriptions and the coins," Palagia explained on Greek television. "Right now there has been no evidence of these things, so we look at the sculptures."
Peristeri, meanwhile, has lashed out at archaeologists who have fueled speculation about the site.
"I am outraged by colleagues who, without knowing the excavation or the archaeological site of Amphipolis, go on television for five minutes of fame," she said on a TV broadcast. "This excavation isn't done only for the benefit of archaeology, but also for the sake of the country in a very critical time period. Everyone is watching."
Her statements, however, have only seemed to garner more attention to the dig. Pundits are speculating that if the tomb doesn't belong to Alexander, his murdered wife and child or one of his top generals could be inside.
Politicians are getting in on the hoopla, also — Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras stopped by for a photo-op last month.
"It is definite we're in front of an important find," Samaras said. "The Macedonian land continues to thrill and surprise us, revealing from its guts unique treasures that compose and weave this amazing mosaic of our Greek history for which all of us Greeks are proud of."
The notoriety and political overtones of the find have put archaeologists in the awkward position of asking for less attention.
"It is the first time that an excavation is underway with television requirements and timetables," the Association of Greek Archaeologists said in a press release after Samaras' visit. "We express our agony on the possible pressure our colleagues are under in their effort to conduct a scientifically correct and fully documented excavation in TV studio conditions."
University of Athens political scientist Yiannis Metaxas worries that all the excitement over the tomb is overshadowing its true worth as a remarkable discovery.
"If in the end these are important finds — they are being undermined by all this noise," he said.