Macedonian site may be lost capital of ancient kingdom

An ancient city in North Macedonia originally believed to date to be a Macedonian military outpost from the 3rd century B.C. is much older and more complex. Excavations starting in 2023 have used ground penetrating radar and cutting-edge technology, including drone-deployed LIDAR, to reveal a vast urban center that may have been the birthplace of Alexander the Great’s grandmother.

When the archaeological site of Gradishte near the modern-day village of Crnobuki was first excavated 15 years ago, the ruins of a military outpost built by Philip V of Macedon to defend against the Roman Republic in the First and Second Macedonian Wars (212-205 B.C. and 200-196 B.C., respectively). The discovery of a coin minted during the reign of Alexander the Great pushed its origin back to 325-323 B.C., and recent excavations have found artifacts — ceramic fragments, axes — pushing human occupation at the site at least as far back as the Bronze Age (3,300-1,200 B.C.).

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Under the surface are the remains of a large city. The acropolis alone covers at least seven acres.

Archaeologists have so far unearthed stone axes, coins, a clay theater ticket, pottery, game pieces, and textile tools. Dating of some of these artifacts, including charcoal and bone, dates the site between 360 BC and 670 AD, according to [National Institute and Museum–Bitola archaeologist Engin] Nasuh. These discoveries provide tangible evidence of a thriving city before the rise of Rome.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery, explains Nick Angeloff, Cal Poly Humboldt Anthropology professor and archaeologist.

“This discovery is significant,” says Angeloff. “It highlights the complex networks and power structures of ancient Macedonia, especially given the city’s location along trade routes to Constantinople. It’s even possible that historical figures like Octavian and Agrippa passed through the area on their way to confront Cleopatra and Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium.”

Angeloff adds that the site may be the lost capital city of the Kingdom of Lyncestis, Lyncus—an ancient settlement and hub for the Upper Macedonian Kingdom that was settled in the seventh century BCE. It’s also possibly the birthplace of Queen Eurydice I, the grandmother of Alexander the Great. Eurydice played a significant role in shaping the political landscape of the region.