She said efforts to reinforce the structure and support the walls are aimed at protecting the excavating team and the monument itself, but the structure is not in bad condition.
"The need to reinforce the structure is not due to the fact that the monument is in bad condition. It's because when it was constructed, it had earth in it. There were large amounts of river soil which covering the inner structure which, combined with the walls, had created a specific static condition," Mendoni said.She also said archaeologists believe this was a measure purposely used by those who built the monument to prevent tomb robbing which was widespread in those times.
Mendoni also repeated that the excavation process needs time and cannot be hurried.
"You can speed up the process by taking some safety measures, which we have. We have a full, modern construction site set up there. Excavation needs time."The archaeologists are carefully considering their plans regarding the third room, which is behind the caryatid statues and the support work that needs to be carried out in order to ensure safety. And for good reason! It was announced that the third chamber is underground and has a flight of stairs.
The obvious question is: Could the fourth chamber hold the key to the Amphipolis riddle?
No one knows as of yet.
The only thing that is certain is that the third chamber is a riddle by itself. More exactly, it has three strange elements: The longer height of the third chamber, its small entrance compared to the three previous ones, and there is no opening at the fourth septal wall, (apart of some removed stones of the blocks, probably from natural causes).
All the archaeologists and researchers at the site are proceeding with extreme care, carefully moving centimeter by centimeter of sand and debris. Judging by what some reports say they will have to work at it for some time because the level of sand in the third chamber is at least seven meters in height.
This obvious and extraordinary difference in height (from the previous chambers) is forcing Greek archaeologists to come to the conclusion that there is an underground tomb construction in the fourth chamber.
With this in mind, if the forth chamber (or any other chamber after that) contains human remains, or other objects, then they are without a doubt buried safely deep in the earth.
Another puzzling element, (which is also quite bizzare), is the small door (opening) which was discovered at the fourth wall. According to reports it only has an opening (or width) of 96 cm. It should be reminded that the previous door openings measured at 1.68 meters.
Finally, the pieces of the fourth wall that seems to be missing from the right part of the wall, are not associated with human action (or at least this was announced by the ProtoThema newspaper). The relevant report noted that it is rather about bricks that have been dislodged, and concluded that this was probably due to a seismic event.
The same report also said that this final element is critical, since it is the conviction of Katerina Peristeri (who is heading the dig at Amphipolis) that the tomb hasn’t been raided.
At the weekend, the Ministry of Culture announced that the archaeologists handling the dig have also finished clearing up the dirt and debris surrounding the two caryatid statues that were found in the tomb. According to the statement, the statues measure 2.27 meters high and are dressed in long chitons and long, fringed robes with rich folds. Pieces of the statue arms were found in the dirt surrounding the statues. The shoes worn by the statues appear to have been colored in red and yellow, while traces of red color were found on the stand of the eastern caryatid.
Earlier this week, Greece's Minister of Culture, Costas Tasoulas, who was invited to speak on the Mega television channel morning show said that the questions regarding the enigmatic tomb’s resident will “soon” be answered, as the archaeological efforts continue.
While rumors regarding the tomb continue to rage, Tasoulas expressed the belief that it is rather unlikely that the tomb belongs to Alexander the Great and at the same time dismissed criticism that the coalition government is using the discoveries for political gains.
Later on that day and after hearing a load of criticism for what he said, the Minister retracted his statement.
Nonetheless, the Greek media jumped the bandwagon and began repeating his statement. This is what forced Lina Mendoni of the culture ministry to announce on ANT1 TV on Tuesday morning that no one yet knows what's hidden inside the third chamber.
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