In a startling development, archaeologists say these mysterious skeletons are the father and son of this legendary ruler.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this story

Alexander the Great is remembered as one of the greatest military commanders of all time—but his father, Philip II, was a formidable ruler in his own right. It was Philip who transformed Macedonia and built the powerful army that Alexander later led across vast territories.

Archaeologists have long known that Philip II was buried in the royal cemetery at Aigai (modern Vergina, Greece). What they couldn’t agree on was which of the royal tombs held his remains. Now, a new international study has finally settled the debate using scientific analyses paired with historical and anthropological evidence.

Although Alexander died at just 32, he still ranks among history’s top generals. His decisive victory over Persia at the Battle of Gaugamela earned him titles like “King of Babylon, King of Asia, and King of the Four Corners of the World,” and his battlefield strategies continue to be studied worldwide.

But Alexander—also known as Alexander III of Macedon—did not rise to greatness alone. He was educated by Aristotle himself, and he inherited an incredibly well-trained army forged by his father, King Philip II. Philip’s military reforms turned Macedonia into a dominant power, giving Alexander the foundation he needed to conquer territories stretching across the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, and deep into Asia.

Philip II may not be as widely known as his legendary son, but more than 2,300 years after his assassination in 336 BCE at Aigai, he is finally receiving renewed attention.

A recent study in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports confirms that the remains of Philip II—alongside those of Alexander the Great’s son and half-brother—are indeed located in the royal tombs at Vergina.

For centuries, Aigai had been forgotten. Then, in 1977, Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos uncovered the burial complex believed to belong to Macedonia’s royal family. The site became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Still, debate lingered over which tomb housed Philip II, sparking decades of scholarly disagreement.

To resolve the uncertainty, a team of archaeologists from the U.S., Spain, and Greece combined several types of scientific evidence—osteology, X-rays, anatomical study—and cross-checked these findings with ancient written accounts. Their conclusions were clear:

Tomb I holds Philip II’s remains, along with those of his wife Cleopatra (not the famous Egyptian queen) and their infant son. Both were killed shortly after Philip’s assassination.
Tomb II, once suspected to contain Philip, actually belongs to King Arrhidaeus—Alexander’s half-brother—and his warrior wife, Adea Eurydice.
Tomb III contains the remains of Alexander IV, Alexander the Great’s teenage son.

“We examined the claim that Philip II was in Tomb II and showed why the evidence does not support it,” the researchers wrote. “Not all data are available yet, and we still await the publication of the Tomb I excavation notes.”

Few father-and-son pairs have reshaped world history as profoundly as Philip II and Alexander the Great. Now, more than 2,360 years later, archaeologists and anthropologists are finally uncovering the final chapter of the royal family that built—and expanded—the ancient Macedonian empire.