Archaeologists have been looking for the ultimate resting place of the Egyptian queen and her husband Mark Antony near the temple Tapuziris Magna for nearly 20 years.
The lost tomb of Cleopatra, the final ptolemaic Egyptian monarch who ruled from 51 to 30 B.C.E., may be located in a tunnel dug into the rock beneath Egypt’s ancient Taposiris Magna Temple.
The 4,265-foot tunnel lies 43 feet below ground, and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery last week, calling it a “geometric miracle.” It is comparable to the Tunnel of Eupalinos on the Greek island of Samos, which is regarded as one of the engineering wonders of antiquity.
Ancient Origins reported on the discovery, which was uncovered during an excavation expedition directed by archaeologist Kathleen Martinez of the University of San Domingo.
Famously, Cleopatra committed herself after her husband, the Roman general Mark Antony, did the same. It is thought that the two were interred together.
The Greco-Roman tunnel archaeologists discovered beneath Tapuziris Magna Temple near Alexandria could be a sign that the lost tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony lies nearby. Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.
After more than a decade of research, Martinez first traveled to Egypt in search of Cleopatra’s tomb around 20 years ago. He was convinced that Taposiris Magna, a temple on the outskirts of Alexandria dedicated to the god of the dead Osiris, was the most likely location for the queen’s final resting place.
Martinez was able to arrange a meeting in Cairo with archaeologist Zahi Hawass, who was the nation’s minister of Egypt’s antiquities affairs at the time, after receiving hundreds of unanswered emails.
She persuaded him to grant her two months so that she could perform excavations there. Although work has been ongoing since 2004, the most convincing proof to far that Martinez is on the right track is the recent discovery.
Archaeologists discovered this alabaster head at excavations beneath Tapuziris Magna Temple near Alexandria. Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.
“This is the perfect place for the tomb of Cleopatra,” Martinez told the blog Heritage Key. “If there’s a one percent chance that the last queen of Egypt could be buried there, it is my duty to search for her. If we discover the tomb… it will be the most important discovery of the 21st century. If we do not discover the tomb… we made major discoveries here, inside the temple and outside the temple.”
The fact that golden-tongued corpses and a cemetery with Greco-Roman-style mummies buried facing the temple have been uncovered thus far by excavations supports Martinez’s theory that a royal tomb was constructed nearby. In addition, there were 22 coins with images of Cleopatra and a bust that was supposed to be her.
The Greco-Roman tunnel archaeologists discovered beneath Tapuziris Magna Temple near Alexandria could be a sign that the lost tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony lies nearby. Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.
The most recent discovery also includes ceramic jars and pots, two alabaster statues from the Ptolemaic era, one of which appears to be a sphinx, and a tunnel. Perhaps as a result of long-ago earthquakes that occurred in the area between 320 and 1303 C.E., a portion of the tunnel remains submerged. The Taposiris Magna might have fallen because of those calamities.
Of course, King Tut’s tomb, which Howard Carter discovered in the Valley of Kings outside of Luxor 100 years ago last week, is Egypt’s most famous archaeological find.
Archaeologists discovered this alabaster head at excavations beneath Tapuziris Magna Temple near Alexandria. Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.
Despite a century’s worth of excavations, there is still disagreement among historians and specialists regarding whether the burial chamber has any hidden rooms.
The idea that it was initially created as Nefertiti, the boy king’s stepmother, was long supported by British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves. (Hawass has asserted independently that he will soon make public the location of Nefertiti’s last resting place.)
An alabaster statue of Cleopatra is shown to the press at the temple of Tasposiris Magna on the outskirts of Alexandria, on April 19, 2009. Archaeologists are now more convinced than ever that the tomb of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra lies nearby. Photo credit should read Cris Bouroncle/AFP via Getty Images.
