Greece’s Culture Ministry has announced the advancing of deadlines for the completion of work on the Kasta Tomb in Amphipolis, Serres to allow visitors from early 2022. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni told the Athens News Agency yesterday while she was on a tour of the site with Central Macedonia Governor Apostolos Tzitzikostas.
Minister Mendoni told reporters the Kasta Tomb site could be prepared to receive small specialist groups of 5-6 visitors at a time, with the general public to be given access later on.
Following the Central Archaeological Council (KAS) unanimously approved the study for restoring the tomb and its surroundings on December 17, Mendoni noted that the first phase of the work can be completed six months earlier than the original deadline, in June 2021 instead of 2022.
She also underlined her determination to work tirelessly to ensure that the deadlines can be brought forward, saying that everything was ready for the Kasta Tomb work to continue without obstruction after the completion of the first phase and until the end of the 2023 program period.
The Kasta Tomb, also known as the Amphipolis Tomb, was discovered in 2012 and first entered in 2014. The ancient Macedonian tomb is the largest ever discovered in Greece. By comparison, the Kast Tomb dwarfs that of Philip II of Macedon, who was the father of Alexander the Great. While it is still unknown who was intombed at Kasta, experts believe it may belong to Hephaestion, a Macedonian nobleman, general and dearest friend of Alexander the Great.