Researchers from the University of Vienna (Austria) have made a stunning discovery. Using computer microtomography, radiocarbon dating, and genetic analysis, they examined a skull that was believed to belong to Arsinoe IV – Cleopatra’s sister. It turns out that this identification was incorrect.
How It All Began
In 1929, during excavations of the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, located in modern-day Turkey, a team led by archaeologist Joseph Keil stumbled upon something extraordinary. In the once-grand Octagon mausoleum, scientists found a sarcophagus that was completely filled with water, and inside it lay a skull of unknown origin.
The Octagon, built at the end of the 1st century BC, was a monumental eight-sided mausoleum made of white marble, standing 13 meters tall.
Dr. Keil examined the skull and concluded that it belonged to “a very distinguished person,” likely a 20-year-old woman. In 1982, researchers discovered the remaining parts of the skeleton.
Scientists who studied it for decades agreed that the remains belonged to Arsinoe IV of the Ptolemaic dynasty – the half-sister of Cleopatra, one of the most famous queens of Egypt.
Arsinoe IV
New Technologies Lead to a Shocking Revelation
Now, a team of Austrian scientists led by Gerhard Weber has announced that the skull and the rest of the skeleton belonged to another individual. It was a boy aged between 11 and 14 years, who died between 205 and 36 BC.
Researchers still do not know who this young boy was. Genetic analysis revealed that he originated from Italy or Sardinia, as reported by the Daily Mail.
According to experts, the boy suffered from “pathological developmental disorders.” He had an underdeveloped upper jaw, which may have made it difficult for him to chew food. One of the cranial sutures, which typically closes around the age of 65, had already fused in his case, resulting in an asymmetrical skull shape.
Facial visualization of Cleopatra’s sister based on the skull that turned out to belong to a boy
Why was this boy buried in a prestigious mausoleum? That question remains unanswered. And it’s not the only one raised by this research. Does this mean that the remains of Cleopatra’s sister are still undiscovered?
The Ptolemies were a royal dynasty that ruled ancient Egypt until its annexation by the Roman Republic in 30 BC. Cleopatra and Arsinoe were daughters of King Ptolemy XII Auletes.
In 41 BC, Arsinoe IV was executed in Ephesus on the orders of Roman politician Mark Antony and at the insistence of his lover Cleopatra.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Scientific Reports.