A GREAT FIND?

Few events match the drama and romance of a major archaeological discovery. It's no wonder, then, that the world was buzzing last week when a team of Greek archaeologists working in Egypt said they had found the tomb of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian King who died at the age of 32 in 323 B.C.

But don't bet on it yet. Experts are reacting cautiously, and some are being downright impolite. Says Peter Green, a University of Texas classicist and the author of an acclaimed biography of Alexander: ``It's the biggest piece of rubbish I've heard in years.''

What archaeologist Leana Souvaltze, who led the Greek team, actually found are three stone tablets bearing inscriptions that purportedly relate to Alexander's death, along with the remains of two large stone chambers. The artifacts come from a site in Egypt's Western Desert, near the oasis of Siwa-- the place where, as legend has it, Alexander received a favorable reading from an oracle. Near the end of his life, goes the story, he said he wanted to be buried at Siwa.

Most scholars, though, think he never got there. After Alexander's death in Babylon, or present-day Iraq, the body was sent back to Macedonia for burial. But Ptolemy, one of Alexander's generals, hijacked the corpse and eventually took it to his home base in Alexandria; having the Emperor's remains gave Ptolemy huge political clout.

None of this means that Souvaltze's claims are impossible--just that they're much too shaky to be taken seriously at this point. A second delegation of Greek archaeologists has already undertaken a visit to the site to make its own evaluation, and Souvaltze is planning to redouble her efforts to find the body. Digging has been interrupted by Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, which ends in three weeks. In the meantime, scholars and Alexander groupies alike will just have to wait.