In 1977 the Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos lifted the stone slab of a vaulted tomb under a huge mound near the village of Vergina and found a gold casket holding the cremated bones of a man in his forties, with a golden wreath beside them. Most scholars now accept that it was Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, murdered in the theatre of the old capital in 336 BC. The mound, the Great Tumulus, is the centrepiece of Aigai, the first capital of Macedon, and today the royal tombs are displayed underground in a museum built inside the tumulus itself, in a half-light that makes the gold glow.
Aigai was a modest place by later standards, a palace on a terrace above the plain with a theatre below, but it was here that the Macedonian kings were buried, and here that the story of Alexander begins. The palace, a large building with an inner courtyard of colonnades, was a vast construction for its time, and the remains of its marble floors and mosaics can still be seen on the hillside. The setting is superb, at the foot of the Pieria mountains, with the broad plain of Imathia opening to the east and the haze of the Thermaic Gulf beyond.
The surrounding country is a land of orchards, especially peaches and cherries, planted in neat rows across the plain, and above them rise the oak and chestnut woods of the lower mountains. Naoussa, a short ride to the west, is known for its red wine, made from the Xinomavro grape, which is dark, tannic and rewarding with lamb. Veria, a pleasant town with a Byzantine quarter, lies a few kilometres to the north.
Riding here is easy and pleasant. Roads cross the plain in long straights between orchards, then climb into the hills with a series of gentle curves and views. Traffic is light, apart from tour buses at the site. The surface is mostly good. Vergina, Melíki and Kouloúra have cafés and small shops, and fuel is available in Veria and in the towns along the main road. The museum is cool even in summer, which is a mercy. Spring, when the orchards flower, and autumn are the best seasons.