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Today at noon the Culture Minister Costas Tasoulas arrived in Amphipolis, accompanied by the head of the excavation team Katerina Peristeri and by the Secretary of the Culture Ministry Lina Mendoni, the deputy Interior Minister Theophilos Leondaridis was also with them.

We still have a lot to do, said the Minister at a press conference, informing journalists on the archaeological digs’ progress. The aim is that the tomb become accessible so that visitors can admire it, he added. Asked about the skeleton found in the tomb, he said that the investigation would be handed over to Greek scholars.

"The photographs are not capable of conveying the reality of the tomb. It is much more meaningful than that. This is a unique archaeological find, and a part of Greece’s cultural achievements. Amphipolis is the crown of archaeological finds in the region and in a wider context as well," Tasoulas emphasised.

As far as the further directions of archaeological research are concerned, Tasoulas said that there is still a lot to be done.

"We must carry out research, retention and conservation," he said, adding that the ultimate goal was that the site opened for everyone to admire sooner rather than later.

The Minister reiterated that the work did not stop there, and archaeologists would be guided by geological research based on the Electric Resistivity Tomography (ERT) method, which is being developed by a research team of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Prospection results are expected over the next few days unless the weather stands in the way. Thereupon, archaeologists are going to decide if, and where, further ditches could be made with the aim of unearthing other buried monuments.

As far as the skeleton is concerned, Tasoulas said that the Ministry was at the stage of seeking an academic institution to take over its analysis.

The Minister said the laboratories of the archaeological museum in Amphipolis had started conservation work on the findings from three months of excavations. He maintained that there were traces of colouring and human images on the architraves recovered inside the mosaics chamber.