text: ATHENSArchaeologists have unearthed a vast ancient tomb in Greece, distinguished by two sphinxes and frescoed walls and dating to 300-325 B.C., in the country's northeast Macedonian region, the government said on Tuesday. 
   
   It marks a significant discovery from the early Hellenistic era, although a Culture Ministry official said there was no evidence yet to suggest a link to Alexander the Great, who died in 323 B.C. after an unprecedented military campaign through the Middle East, Asia and northeast Africa, or his family. 
   
   The official said the Amphipolis site, situated about 100 km (65 miles) northeast of Greece's second-biggest city Thessaloniki, appeared to be the largest ancient tomb to have been discovered in Greece. 
   
   Archaeologists, who began excavating the site in 2012, expect to enter the tomb by the end of the month to determine out who was buried there. 
   
   "It looks like the tomb of a prominent Macedonian of that era," said a second culture ministry official, declining to be named. Alexander the Great died in Babylonia, in what is modern Iraq, and his actual burial place is not known. 
   
   Archaeologists have found two sphinxes, thought to have guarded its entrance, a 4.5-metre-(yard)-wide road leading into it, with walls on both sides covered by frescoes. It is circled by a 497-metre-long marble outer wall. 
   
   Experts believe a five-meter-tall lion sculpture previously discovered nearby once stood atop the tomb. 
   
   "It is certain that we stand before an especially significant finding. The land of Macedonia continues to move and surprise us, revealing its unique treasures," Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Tuesday during a visit to the site. 
   
   (Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas writing by George Georgiopoulos; editing by Mark Heinrich) ||||| Archaeologists excavating an ancient mound in northern Greece have uncovered what appears to be the entrance to an important tomb from about the end of the reign of warrior-king Alexander the Great. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who visited the tightly guarded site Tuesday, said the discovery "is clearly extremely important" and dates between 325-300 B.C. Alexander, who started from the northern Greek region of Macedonia to build an empire stretching as far as India, died in 323 B.C. and was buried in Egypt. His fellow royals were traditionally interred in a cemetery near Vergina, far to the west, where the lavishly furnished tomb of Alexander's father, Philip II, was discovered in the 1970s. But archaeologists believe the apparently unlooted Amphipolis grave, which is surrounded by a surprisingly long and well-built wall with courses of marble decorations, may have belonged to a senior ancient official. 
   
   Excavator Katerina Peristeri has argued that the mound was originally topped by a large stone lion that was unearthed a century ago some 5 kilometers from the site. In the past, the lion has been associated with Laomedon of Mytilene, one of Alexander's military commanders who became governor of Syria after the king's death. "The excavation will answer the crucial question of who was buried inside," Samaras said. 
   
   A tourist takes a picture of a 4th century B.C. marble Lion of Amphipolis, some 5 kilometers (3 miles) from a large funeral mound currently under excavation by Greek archaeologists. The mound, which is believed to contain a significant grave dating to the end of Alexander the Great’s reign, and excavators believe this lion originally formed part of a tomb monument that crowned the artificial hill. Alexandros Michailidis / AP 
   
   The tomb is expected to be opened in the next two weeks. So far, workers have unveiled a flight of 13 steps that lead to a broad path, flanked by masonry walls, which end in a built-up arch covering two headless, wingless sphinxes — mythical creatures that blend human, bird and lion characteristics. A strong police guard has been mounted around the fenced-off mound. 
   
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   SOCIAL 
   
   Great news coming from Amphipolis,#Greece:archaeological discovery brings @PrimeministerGR Samaras to the area. http://t.co/6MD87RLnus — Amb of Greece to US (@C_Panag) August 12, 2014 
   
   — The Associated Press
target: – Archaeologists in Greece are nearly ready to enter what they say is the biggest ancient tomb ever unearthed in the country. The tomb at the ancient site of Amphipolis in the Macedonia region, around 65 miles northeast of Thessaloniki, dates from around 300 BC—the time of Alexander the Great, though experts don't believe it belongs to the warrior-king, who died in what is now Iraq, the Telegraph reports. Two carved sphinxes flank the entrance to the tomb, which is surrounded by a 540-yard marble outer wall. "It looks like the tomb of a prominent Macedonian of that era," a culture ministry official tells Reuters. Archaeologists have spent the last couple years excavating the ancient burial mound under which the tomb was found, and they plan to enter the tomb within the next two weeks, reports NBC, which adds that there is one clue to its possible occupant: Researchers believe a 16-foot stone lion unearthed in the area a century ago and associated with Laomedon of Mytilene, one of Alexander the Great's military commanders, once stood atop the tomb. (Click to read about an "evil eye" box uncovered in an ancient cemetery.)