- para, and–dizafrequently became civic entities over the course of
time. How should such sites be compared, at early stages of their
development, with Greek municipal governments? International schol-
arship of the last two decades has greatly enlarged the scope of discussion
about‘big’sites, in spite of the lack of a clear ancient nomenclature that
might distinguish a hierarchy of agglomerations by size, or by forms of
public organization.^63
Forty years ago, Velkov recognized this problem. Along with other
members of the excavation team at Kabyle in the 1970s and 1980s, he
could see that the material data did not seem in tune with widespread
assumptions about this site, made on the basis of a limited range of
literary references. Reported to be among the conquests of Philip II, there
was very little evidence at Kabyle of Macedonian authority. On the
contrary, the stratified sequence at the eastern gateway of the city, and
the burials in the necropolis nearby, pointed to an ephemeral presence at
best.^64 Most scholars, of East and West, had assumed that Greek forms of
political organization and urban planning were introduced into the
Balkans in the wake of the Macedonian conquests. Velkov was beginning
to see that this simple explanation was not borne out on the ground.
Nor did the burgeoning archaeological discoveries, at Kabyle and else-
where, suit received or modified Marxist views, which treated evidence
of classical Mediterranean culture in the Balkan interior as signs of
enforced political exploitation by the ruling élite. A different framework
was required for understanding what was happening in this region in the
final four centuriesbc. The ideological underpinnings of academic
perceptions of classical antiquity were beginning to collapse at the
same time as the old Communist order of contemporary politics was
being superseded. A further complication to perceptions of the Balkan
past came in the form of new material discoveries in Macedonia.
Vergina and the Macedonian Kings of Manolis AndronikosWhen Manolis Andronikos introduced the plenary session of the Elev-
enth International Congress of Classical Archaeology on 4 September
1978 in London, he was met not just by a packed hall of scholars, but by
journalists and cameramen. It was in London that he unveiled his most
recent discoveries that brought to light the unplundered remains of a
Macedonian ruler, identified by him as Philip II, and those of his spouse,
(^63) See further Chs 2, 3, and 4.
(^64) Archibald 1998, 311–16 with further refs; Chs 2, 4, and 5 for full discussion.
32 Introduction