Artifacts Could Boost Macedonia’s “Name” Position

What they're doing is great for archaelogy; however i just hope they dont destroy all those pieces found with greek inscriptions on them in order to suit their modern political agendas! This has nothing to do with anything involving resolving the name row and certainly wont do anything to boost their position on this issue as the title of this article would have us believe!

How are ancient artufacts with Greek writing on them going to help the Makedonski cause? Has Gruevski bothered to tell people that all ancient Macedonian script is in GREEK!

Keep going on that path....the patience of your Albanian neighbours will be wearing thin...

Present day Macedonians are one of south Serbian Slavic Tribes. Ancient Macedonians were one of The Illirian Tribes.

This is more than hilarious. Fyromistan, is closing their eyes with artifacts that exist in many years now, in Greece, and LINK them with Greece, just like Pella Katadesmos, and other incriptions. The fact that they probably found artifacts, doesnt link them to ancient Macedonians. You can find those even in Afghanistan, so ? Let the Afghans call themselves Macedonians! The argument of artifacts goes only for Fyromians? Lmao.

Are you guys still living in Fantasy land? Are you blind? You are still not reading the fine print.

Again the same old arguments from FYROMS Prime Minister... Ancient Macedonians did extend their rule over the current territory of FYROM but the center of their state was in Agae,Dion and Vergina ,much further to the south, in Greece. Todays Makedonki have no relation to ancient Macedonians and further more, they cannot claim exclusively the heritage of ancient Macedon. Happy New Year Makedonki of Ceverna Makedoniya!

Gruevski's obsession to create an 'identity' for the people of this unfortunate country has no end. No matter how many excavations you dig Mr Gruevski you will keep discovering GREEK artifacts, as the ancient Greeks dominated the whole Balkans, as many other places as well. In Bulgaria there is a plethora of ancient Greek artifacts, but than don't make modern Bulgarians claim 'ancient heritage'. The whole World is laughing at you.

It's at least amusing to read the statements of FYROM's PM. If he actually think that uncovered ancient artifacts are going to stregthen his country's case, he obviously should reconsider it. Since Mr Gruevski and his administration are the ones who insist on DENYING the facts, it makes that statement appear extremely clumsy. The ancient artifacts from the region of Macedonia explicitely prove ancient Macedonians spoke Greek and none of these, show any relation with any Slavic language. Eventhough the entire Academic community verifies the latter Mr Gruevski choose to close his eyes and hear nothing which will go against his nationalistic aims. If the "argument of facts" meant something for FYROM's PM, then obviously the 6,000 inscriptions in Macedonia, Greece in Greek language where in some of them even the ancient Macedonians identified themselves as Greek should speak volumes. It's not surprising that eminent Professors of ancient history keep on signing the protest letter to president Obama that ancient Macedonians were Greeks. http://history-of-macedonia.com/wordpress/2009/05/20/letter-to-president-barack-obama-signed-201-scholars-graeco-roman-antiquity-about-ancient-macedonian-history/ Its not surprising that NOT even a single serious scholar ever connected the ancient Macedonians with being Slavs. Simply, because they all know its a load of unsubstantiated claims promoted by FYROM to fit their nationalistic agenda. Time for FYROM's PM and his country to stop pretending to be something that they never were in the first place.

...news!! Now Greece can send some archaeologist to FYROM to translate the writings (if there are any) on these finds.

Are Turks who regularly dig up Greek artifacts Ionians? Are Turks who dig up Lycian, Lydian, Phrygian, Thracian artifacts any of those people today? NO Same with any modern country that does not have a basis in ancient history. Greece, Egypt and China are the ones that are and the Egyptians only slightly because its become mostly an Arab country.

Grucho is shifting ground: "Slavomacedonia", "Slavomacedonians" "Macedonian language" and claims to ancient Macedonia to remain in place. How did I get that? Well, check first your own article: "A game over a name" http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/blogs/23451/ Key phrases: "...Gruevski usually goes quiet when something potentially harmful to his high ratings is about to be announced..." "...Milososki also took on the role of “the bad guy”..." "...Some analysts argue that Ivanov may be the public figure that Gruevski has chosen..." to "...become “the traitor who changed the name”. So, whatever Milososki & Ivanov say are supposed to take the heat, while whatever Grucho says is harmless and intended to keep his popularity up. Grucho shall keep playing the same game: He is going to get a compromise along with the wreaths of solving the name problem and slam the opposition in the same move. How could that happen? Grucho: "We have both an Ancient Macedonian heritage, and a Slavic heritage, and many more ancestors". This is - supposedly - a reply to the accusations of the opposition towards his antiquisation campaign, and the erasure of the Slavic heritage in favor of Ancient Macedonian fantasies. In reality, this is a ruse! Grucho does not give a damn about the view of the opposition anyway, he has smashed them repeatedly! The claim that he is attempting to thwart the accusation of the SDSM (and others) is ridiculus, because he has no need to destroy Cervencovski any further. His real problem right now is how to give a solution that would be both acceptable to his core supporters within the country and in the diaspora, and to the Greeks and the worldwide academic community that won't accept any relation between the Ancient Macedonians and the Slavs, for obvious reasons. At first he mutters "We are both Slavs and Macedonians" for a couple of times, until this becomes entrenched into the conscience of his followers, who won't be able to complain that they got surprised when he shall state to the world that "We are Slav-Macedonians". Note that, although he suggests that there were other civilizations in the region, he does not mention them by name (Paeonians, Dardanian/Illyrians, Romans) because that would distort the message, and some Greeks could mock him as "Slav-Paeonian" e.t.c. At the same time, the whole antiquisation campain shall remain intact with all of the statues/renamings, in order to give the impression to the diaspora that his "hold" upon the Ancient Macedonian heritage remains intact. All of that shall become official when Milososki and/or Ivanov shall make the same statements as Grucho, but this time without to mention that they shall stick to the identity issue. Cervenkovski and the rest of the opposition who were whinning about the loss of the Slavic identity won't be able to criticize this solution, plus, Grucho shall keep the Ancient Macedonian heritage claims alive and point to them that he has managed to win more than the Socialists Cervenkovski and especially Grigorov/Malenkov who dismissed that heritage. At the same time, they think that the name issue has been resolved in the U.N., because the latter has indeed recognized their language. We had no Macedonian language to oppose to their claims, since the Macedonians have been speaking Greek since the antiquity. Should Greece accept it? Well, up to a point... What point? But of course, the dividing line between Macedonia and Paeonia! and a change of the constitutional name. If he wants to maintain an Ancient Macedonian heritage, he should keep it where it belongs: Within Ancient Macedonian territory. Skopje was never part of Ancient Macedonia, Skopje was never visited by Alexander the Great. Thus, if you want to have a statue of Alexander the Great dear Grucho, you'd rather put it in the vicinity of Heraclea Lyncestis or Lychnidos. In other words, within the territory of the Ancient Macedonian districts of Pelagonia and Lyncestis. The same should apply for airports and other projects (I can see already the airports of Skopje and Lychnidos swapping names!) If he has trouble recognizing the exact territory, I can show him an approximate map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Macedonian_Kingdom.jpg In any case, no serious historian shall recognize the short lived conquest of Paeonia by Phillip V as a part of Ancient Macedonia, since it remained under Macedonian control for less than a century (217 B.C. - 146 B.C.), much less than the Ptolemaic Egypt or the Seleukid Asia were under Macedonian rulers, and also less than this teritorry was under Bulgarian kings in the Middle ages - something that resulted to the designation of the name "Bulgaria" upon them by the subsequent Eastern Roman (Byzantine) administration. Thus Stobi and Bylazora are not considered part of the Ancient Macedonian heritage. Skupi, further north, was Dardanian (Illyrian). With this solution: The diaspora that is mainly descended from Macedonian lands shall be able to "cherish their heritage" in Macedonia proper, and hopefully that shall eventually learn the Greek customs and language of the Ancient Macedonians. The Folks around Skopje, Veles, Kumanovo, Tetovo, Stip e.t.c can get into the European Union and make their life easier. Greece and the worldwide academic community shall be relieved to know that a bunch of ahistorical claims has been rejected, and from now on any claims on Macedonian heritage shall be confined in Ancient Macedonian territories, and a bunch of Slavs who massacred much of the Medieval Macedonian population won't be rewarded with their name as well. Is this fair to you folks?

Isn't this the same as if white Americans dug up Indian artifacts and claimed them to be theirs because they are American artifacts and therefore their heritage? Is this not ridiculous?

There are some artifacts also in India and Pakistan where Alexander was during his campaign. Is there a chance Indians and Pakistanis to claim they're... "Macedonians"? PS. ..and by the way, ALL the artifacts were found in south Vardarska near the borders with real Macedonia in Greece. Skopje and 80% of Vardarska have nothing to do.. even with the artifacts let alone the Macedonian tribe!

Why so much comments, and vesting time for nothing. Let see 2013! The whole World WILL laughing at you. Deal is Deal. 100 years are the most posible period... Greathings from Rome, Italy

Why are politicians getting involved in archaeology and history? Leave that to the educated scholars.

Don't these people have any pride? Come on Skopians stop begging. It is over. Did you really expect Greece to let yuou steal its culture?

Gruevski's artifacts prove that he doesn't hail from the ancient Greek tribe of Al.Veliki. It is though interesting that he believes otherwise. Can it be naive or in search of a new identity, either way modern Macedonians continue to speak our Slavic language.

Gruevski must be bitterly dissapointed. I am sure all that money was spent to find artefacts that did not have Greek inscriptions on them. Maybe some magical proto-slavic one instead. The evidence is now staring in your face Gruevski. Every single artefact is in Greek.

Yeah, today's Macedonians are Slavs. They have no relations with ancient Macedonians. They haven't since Sanskrit times, which is the origin of all European groups! I can't believe that this argument is still going on!

PLEASE WATCH ON YOUTUBE "The Doubling Of Greece: 1912-1913 1/6"! I am very happy because the People from Hellada-Hellas-Graecia-Greece are preocupate with the History of Macedonia. If MACEDONIA is Greece, then WHY Greece had changed The North of Greece in Makedonia after 1990? I wished you has been RIGHT, but there is something INTERESTING... Macedonia was divided 1913 and 2013 is very close... Hellas had recieved Macedonia as a GIFT, now after 100 years MAYBE SHALL HAVE TO GIVE BACK that EUROPEAN GIFT.

PLEASE WATCH: "The Doubling Of Greece: 1912-1913 1/6" Macedonia is Macedeonia. The Name that is writen EVEN in THE HOLY WORD-BIBLE can not disappear. Macedonia is a Living Name with Macedonians... O,Greece do not forget that after 45% Macedonian Population you have Albanian, Bulgarian, Turkish... Population in yout TODAYS teritory. Do not forget WHO ARE your neighbours...? Do you think that Greece can existe in the future without respecting her neighbours?

Actually to the annoyance of Gruevski his grandfather was a Greek speaking Macedonian and onl;y when his father married a Bulgarian speaking Macedonian shortly before his death did Gruevski get a good Slavic upbringing. It seems for Gruevski seeing his Greek heritage clashing with his Bulgarian must be quite distorting.