Christos Giamakis

Thesis Abstract

My research will focus on the social structure of Archaic Macedonia through examination of the material record and especially the so-called ‘warrior burials’.

Elite identities displayed in death will be discussed in relation to the rise to new powers. Previous studies have focused on either classical Macedonian kingship or on socio-political hierarchies elsewhere in the Archaic Greek world, leaving the emergence of royal power in Macedonia poorly understood.

The distinctive ‘warrior burials’ which appeared more or less simultaneously at a small number of sites across Macedonia, offer a key guide to evolving socio-political hierarchies in this crucial historical period.

Ancient Macedonia is famous for Alexander the Great but its origins as a state start centuries earlier. While previous studies have focused on either classical Macedonian kingship or on socio-political hierarchies elsewhere in the Archaic Greek world, the emergence of royal power in Macedonia remains poorly understood.

This project will rectify this, charting the social and political development of early Macedonia by investigating the role of funerary display in the development of elite networks. Elite identities constructed by different types of burial will be discussed in relation to the rise to power of a new elite group.

During this period a number of distinctive ‘warrior burials’ appeared more or less simultaneously at a small number of sites across various regions of Macedonia. By comparing and contrasting these with other burials in the same region, this project will examine the creation and development of socio-political hierarchies.

Furthermore, the possible link between this new elite group and military expansion will be explored. In this way, my project will address power, ideology, and the origins of kingship in Macedonia using modern anthropological theories of social and political organisation.