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Battlefield of Chaeronea

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:44 pm
by jan
Where can I find information about the excavation of the battlefield of Chaeronea? Thanks in advance.

Re: Battlefield of Chaeronea

Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 6:26 pm
by amyntoros
jan wrote:Where can I find information about the excavation of the battlefield of Chaeronea? Thanks in advance.
I don't think you will find much, if anything, either on the web or in current books. As far as I can tell, the original excavations wherein the lion statue and skeletons were discovered were made very early in the nineteenth century when archaeology wasn't even considered a science. I doubt that accurate records were made of the findings "in situ" and I have no idea what they did with the skeleton remains.

There may have been further excavations since then. Perhaps our Greek members know of some?

Best regards,

What a shame!

Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:04 pm
by jan
Well, thank you so much, Amytoros, for helping me with this investigation. I did find an interesting post that you wrote about this battle which came up in the search engine. You were discussing whether Alexander led a calvary unit or headed the infantry as I recall. Thanks for such an enlightening post.

I have been searching for any information and you have convinced me that your conclusions are quite correct. There is little to learn through the internet I have found, but I do see that the University of Cambridge has some documents telling of the time when the original lion monument was found by some Englishmen.

This is a most interesting study to learn that distinguished professors like Peter Green can jump to conclusions. Because they found only so many bodies, they immediately conclude that there were survivors. I am inclined to believe that Plutarch is correct in his assertion that each and every man was killed to the end, but I maintain that the number 300 is an arbitrary figure. ( I made a comment today on that in my diary so won't repeat it here.)

I really appreciate your post about Alexander leading the cavalry unit. Usually, men will dismount and fight hand to hand whenever necessary, and I am convinced that that is probably what had happened.

This battle is truly amazing when you think about it. It has a sense of humor regarding Demosthenes' remarks...take him alive... :lol:

It is simply too bad that there is not a clearcut record of the remains of the soldiers then, but you have given a good reason as to why not. I would have thought that anything of any value that was salvageable would end up in a museum somewhere.

I am interested in the uniforms that the Thebans wore as well as the weapons, if any, could be found there. I would not have expected any weapons but it would be nice to know how the uniforms were preserved after so many years lying in that grave.

I honestly believe that Alexander and his troops would have confiscated all metal of any worth to them. Especially weaponry.

The soldiers were laid to rest in rows of seven I have learned. About 40 in each row then. Very interesting to contemplate all this. Thanks so much for your contribution. I sincerely appreciate it. :D