In the late 19th century, excavations in the area revealed that the monument stood at the edge of a quadrangular enclosure. The skeletons of 254 men laid out in seven rows were found buried within it. A tumulus near the monument was also tentatively identified as the site of the Macedonian "polyandrion" where the Macedonian dead were cremated. Excavation of the tumulus between 1902 and 1903 by the archeologist Georgios Soteriades confirmed this. At the center of the mound, about deep, was a layer of ashes, charred logs, and bones about thick. Recovered among these were vases and coins dated to the 4th century BC. Swords and remarkably long spearheads measuring about were also discovered, which Soteriades identified as the Macedonian sarissas.