Macedonian Coins Discovered

Hmmm, take a good hard look at this photo of one of the coins recovered as mentioned in the story below. It does not strike me as a male warrior astride a horse, I think it depicts a female. But hey, what do I know :)  An Amazon - a depiction of one of the mounted female warriors so fearsome they struck terror into the hearts of the archaic all male Greek army? 

Macedonian Archaeologists Discover Ancient Coins near Ohrid
BalkanTravellers.com

31 March 2010 | Around 20 coins with the image of the father of Alexander the Great, Philip II of Macedon, and “other ancient Macedonian rulers” were found by archaeologists during excavations along the road between the south-western Macedonian towns of Ohrid and Struga, national media reported today.

In addition to the coins, a space with around 1,000 arrows was also discovered, Director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Office Pasko Kuzman told the Alsat-M television station.

The archaeological find was made in the vicinity of the Cyclops Fortress, which – according to Kuzman, dates to the 358 BC when Philip II passed through the area with his army. The fortress, he added, was a strategic military position for the ruler’s army.

Although Philip II of Macedon’s biggest claim to historical claim is perhaps his fathering of Alexander the Great, the ancient Greek personage (382 – 336 BC) was a great ruler and military strategist in his own right, who largely realised his expansionist vision.

Alexander the Great's "Crown," Shield Discovered?

From the National Geographic, a story of archaeological detective work and evidence of the barbaric mindset of the ancient Greeks - they killed innocent women and children along with the primary targets (the males). Sara Goudarzifor National Geographic News April 23, 2008 An ancient Greek tomb thought to have held the body of Alexander the Great's father is actually that of Alexander's half brother, researchers say. This may mean that some of the artifacts found in the tomb—including a helmet, shield, and silver "crown"—originally belonged to Alexander the Great himself. Alexander's half brother is thought to have claimed these royal trappings after Alexander's death. The tomb was one of three royal Macedonian burials excavated in 1977 by archaeologists working in the northern Greek village of Vergina. Excavators at the time found richly appointed graves with artifacts including a unique silver headband, an iron helmet, and a ceremonial shield, along with a panoply of weapons and an object initially identified as a scepter. "[Archaeologists] announced that the burial in the main chamber of the large rich [tomb] was that of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, who was assassinated in 336 B.C," said Eugene N. Borza, professor emeritus of ancient history at Pennsylvania State University. But recent analyses of the tombs and the paintings, pottery, and other artifacts found there, suggest that the burials are in fact one generation more recent than had previously been thought, Borza said. Rest of story.