PRICELESS golden treasures discovered in the royal burial tombs of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian dynasty are to go on display at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum.

The extraordinary finds from northern Greece include intricate gold jewellery, life-sized marble sculptures, and items from the 2,500-year-old tomb of the Lady of Aegae, who was found dressed head-to-toe in breathtaking gold jewellery, which had been sewn into her clothes.

When the 500 treasures go on display in Oxford in April, it will be first time they have been seen outside of Greece.

The four-month show will be the Ashmolean’s first major archaeological exhibition since its £61m modernisation programme was completed.

Archaeologist Dr Angeliki Kottaridi, who personally uncovered many of the items, said: “This exhibition is the most important Greek cultural event in many years.

“The artistry, skill and foresight with which these objects were made represent a truly sophisticated dynasty, about whom there is much more to learn.”

The treasures were all found during the excavation of the tombs and palace of Aegae, discovered in modern-day Vergina by Prof Manolis Andronicos in 1977.

The royal city, 300 miles north of Athens, was the first capital of Macedon and the seat of the Temenid kings, who ruled from the mid-seventh century BC until the fourth century BC.

The most remarkable find was the unlooted tomb of Alexander the Great’s father Philip II – one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.

Before his death in 1992, Prof Andronicos also uncovered the theatre where Philip II was assassinated and the Lady of Aegae tomb.

His work has been continued by Dr Kottaridi, whose painstaking excavations have led to the discovery of more intricate gold jewellery, silverware, sculptures and mosaic floors.

The site, now northern Greece’s most popular tourist attraction, was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1996.

Items on display in Oxford from April will include life-sized clay heads buried at Aegae in about 480BC, a golden head representing the snake-haired monster Medusa, and an intricate golden wreath found in Philip II’s tomb, which has 80 carved leaves and 112 flowers still intact.

The Ashmolean’s director Dr Christopher Brown said it was a tremendous honour for the museum to be the first place where the latest discoveries would go on display.

The exhibition, entitled Heracles to Alexander the Great, will run at the Beaumont Street museum from Thursday, April 7, until Monday, August 29.