Vergina skeletal remains match those of King Philip II of Macedon (pics)

Experts confirmed that the skeletal remains found in a tomb in Vergina, northern Greece, belong to King Philip II of Macedon, Alexander the Great’s father. The royal father suffered a leg wound that left him crippled three years before his assassination in 336 BC. New research found evidence of his injury and signs of lameness in the skeletal remains.

The female and infant remains buried with the identified skeleton is believed to be that of King Philip II’s wife Cleopatra and their newborn child. Alexander the Great was the son of his fourth wife, Olympias. He later fell in love with teenager Cleopatra Eurydice, the niece of General Attalus. The couple reportedly had two children – a boy called Caranus and a girl called Europa, who was born just days before his death.

Upon his assassination, Alexander became the king of Macedon at the age of 20. In 1977 and 1978, Royal Tombs I and II were found to have two male skeletons. Experts assumed Philip was the male skeleton in Tomb II, however the skeletons had no lesions to the legs that indicate lameness. Separate studies found evidence that Tomb II carried the remains of King Arrhidaeus and his wife Eurdice.