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.you enter the raised mound or tumulus through an ominously dark passage, leaving daylight behind, only to emerge in an open circular space where wonderful lighting illuminates some of the most extraordinary finds ever discovered. This shell was erected over the tombs and the other invaluable finds to protect them from the elements in 1997. They represent one of the most astonishing archaeological discoveries in 20th century Europe.