Researchers led by Dominican archaeologist Kathleen Martinez, who has spent 20 years searching for Cleopatra’s burial site, have announced a significant discovery.
The team believes that the queen found her final resting place in the temple city of Taposiris Magna, located near Alexandria, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The scientists uncovered a white marble head of a statue, which they suggest may depict the true likeness of Cleopatra, who ruled Egypt from 51 to 30 B.C. The sculpture portrays a woman with a small nose, full lips, and hair styled around her head. This image is quite different from the one we are all accustomed to.
Ms. Martinez and her team also unearthed 337 coins bearing Cleopatra’s portrait, along with pottery, oil lamps, figurines, and other artifacts. The researchers were particularly intrigued by a spacious cemetery featuring 20 burial chambers and a tomb with three chambers.
Kathleen Martinez has long believed that the queen’s tomb is hidden somewhere among the temple ruins, which are situated above a long tunnel. The archaeologist speculates that Cleopatra’s body was transported from the palace through this tunnel and buried in a secret location.
Criticism Ensues
However, other archaeologists argue that this sculptural representation is not of Cleopatra but rather of another noble figure.
Critics of Kathleen Martinez have also challenged her theory regarding the location of Cleopatra’s tomb, insisting that the queen was indeed buried in Alexandria, not nearby.
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities stated that, regardless, the discovery in Taposiris Magna holds significant historical importance.
In addition to the possible statue of Cleopatra, Martinez and her team also found a limestone bust of a pharaoh adorned with a nemes – the ceremonial headdress of rulers.
Analysis of ceramic fragments discovered during the excavations confirmed that the construction of the temple city of Taposiris Magna dates back to the first century B.C.