contained valuable treasures. It was built in the 4th century BC and may have belonged to Antigonus II Gonatas. The great tumulus was constructed at the beginning of the third century BC (by Antigonos Gonatas) perhaps over smaller individual tumuli to protect the royal tombs from further pillaging after marauding Galati had looted and destroyed the cemetery. The hill material contained many earlier funeral stele. Palace The most important building discovered is the monumental palace. Located on a plateau directly below the acropolis, this building of two or perhaps three stories is centred on a large open courtyard flanked by Doric colonnades. On the north side was a large gallery with a view of the stage of the neighbouring theatre and the whole Macedonian plain. The palace was sumptuously decorated, with mosaic floors, painted plastered walls, and fine relief tiles. The masonry and architectural members were covered with high-quality marble stucco. Excavations have dated its construction to the reign of Philip II, even though he also had a palace in the capital, Pella. It has been suggested that the building was designed by the architect Pytheos of Priene, known for his work on the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and for his views on urban planning and architectural proportions). The theatre, also from the second half of the 4th century BC, was closely associated with the palace. Restoration works on the palace are due to be completed by 2022. Other tombs The cemetery of the tumuli extends for over and contains over 500 grave-mounds of significant wealth, some dating as early as the 11th century BC. To the north-west of the ancient city is the important group of tombs from the 6th and 5th centuries BC belonging to members of the Macedonian dynasty and their courts. The Cluster of the Queens includes cist and pit tombs dating to the Greco-Persian Wars era, two of which probably belong to the mother and spouse of Alexander I: the all golden "Lady of Aigai" and her female relative, in whose funeral at least twenty-six small terracotta statues. One from around 340 BC with an imposing marble throne is identified as that of Eurydice, mother of Philip II. The so-called "Ionic Tomb" or "Rhomaios's Tomb", named after its excavator, Konstantinos Rhomaios, is an elegant Macedonian tomb with an Ionic facade consisting of four engaged columns crowned by a painted floral frieze, now no longer visible because