Mosaics dating back around 2,400 years have just been unearthed at a site associated with the education of the young Alexander the Great.
The discovery was made at Mieza, in northern Greece, near the modern city of Naoussa. Archaeologists are currently excavating a vast complex built in the middle of the 4th century BCE; they identify it as the royal gymnasium of ancient Macedonia. At that time, a gymnasium served both educational and physical-training purposes.
Aerial view of the tripartite building recently unearthed in the royal gymnasium of ancient Mieza. The two side rooms correspond to the banquet spaces where mosaic floors were found.
Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture.
This site is directly associated with Aristotle and the future Alexander the Great. Ancient sources report that the philosopher taught the young prince and other sons of the Macedonian elite there. The new excavations strengthen the identification of the building.
Archaeologists have uncovered a building measuring more than 160 square meters. A central entrance leads to two large rooms where communal meals were held. Each could accommodate ten couches and at least twenty people. The floors of these two rooms are decorated with colorful mosaics that are still preserved.
One detail particularly caught the researchers' attention: the quality and technique of these mosaics resemble those of the royal palace at Aigai. This similarity strengthens the connection between the gymnasium and the court of the Macedonian kings. The site would date precisely to the reign of Philip II, Alexander's father.
Cleaning the mosaic floor of the northern andron, one of the two banquet rooms discovered in the royal gymnasium of Mieza.
Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture.
Other rooms, equipped with stone benches, have been interpreted as teaching spaces. Archaeologists have also found a training area, a stadium, water facilities, and a long covered gallery measuring around 200 meters.
The complex covered approximately 3 hectares; its scale helps show that the education of young Macedonians was not limited to lessons. Teaching, physical training, and social gatherings took place within the same complex. Objects found on site, including styli used for writing, add to the discovery.
Research in its current form began in 2024 and is expected to continue. Several parts of the gymnasium remain to be studied. Future work will notably need to clarify its architecture and the function of the different spaces, following the destruction and transformations the site underwent during antiquity.