Archaeologist Kathleen Martinez, who has been searching for Cleopatra VII’s tomb for nearly 20 years, has made a significant discovery at the believed burial site. She uncovered a white marble statue head, which may depict the true likeness of the queen, who ruled from 51 to 30 BC.
The statue features a woman with a small nose, pouty lips, and braided hair, offering a possible glimpse of Cleopatra’s true appearance, according to Daily Mail.
Martinez and her team discovered 337 coins featuring Cleopatra’s image, along with pottery, oil lamps, figurines, and other artifacts at the Temple of Taposiris Magna.
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Martinez, who has long believed the queen’s tomb is hidden within the temple’s ruins, noted that the site sits atop a 4,281-foot-long tunnel, 43 feet underground.
Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, called the discovery “significant.”
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities stated that findings at Taposiris Magna are crucial for understanding the architectural, cultural, and ceremonial practices of the time.
In addition to the potential statue of Cleopatra, Martinez and her team unearthed a limestone bust of a king wearing the Nemes headdress.
Martinez led a team of Egyptian and Dominican archaeologists for this dig, in collaboration with the National University Pedro Henríquez Ureña. Researchers uncovered foundation deposits beneath the southern wall of the temple’s outer enclosure.
The female statue was the most significant finding, though some experts question whether it depicts Cleopatra, as Martinez believes. Critics pointed out the differences in facial features between the statue and the ancient queen, suggesting it may instead represent a princess.
Martinez and her team also found more than 300 coins adorned with Cleopatra’s image, along with a scarab-shaped amulet inscribed with “The justice of Ra has shone,” a bronze ring dedicated to the goddess Hathor, and ancient burial sites.
These discoveries add to the collection of artifacts bearing Cleopatra’s resemblance, supporting Martinez’s quest to locate the queen’s long-lost tomb.
Researchers uncovered a large cemetery with 20 burial chambers and a tomb with three chambers beneath the Taposiris Magna lighthouse.
In 2022, Martinez discovered a tunnel resembling the Tunnel of Eupalinos on the Greek island of Samos, one of the Classical world’s significant engineering feats.
Martinez told Heritage Key in 2022: “If there’s a oneper cent chance that the last queen of Egypt could be buried there, it is my duty to search for her. This is the first time that any archeologist has found tunnels, passages underground [and] inside the enclosure walls of the temple, so we have changed forever what they know about the architecture.”
The archaeologist believes Cleopatra planned for her and Mark Antony to be buried together after Antony’s defeat and suicide following Caesar Augustus’ victory.
The mission also uncovered the remains of a Greek temple from the fourth century BC, which was destroyed between the second century BC and the early AD era.
Martinez’s excavation at Taposiris Magna further uncovered a complex underground tunnel system extending from Lake Mariout to the Mediterranean Sea. Ceramic fragments indicate the temple’s construction dates back to the 1st century BC.
Named the “great tomb of Osiris,” the temple was likely dedicated to Osiris and Isis, with Cleopatra believed to be Isis’s reincarnation.
The site is now in ruins due to centuries of earthquakes, causing parts of the temple to collapse and sink into the sea.
Indeed, the Taposiris Magna site has a long excavation history, beginning with Napoleon’s dig in the early 19th century.
Martinez started her investigation in 2005, driven by her belief that Cleopatra was buried there following her suicide in 30 BC.
Martinez theorizes Cleopatra’s death was a ritual apotheosis, aiming to elevate her to goddess status, warranting a temple burial, possibly in one dedicated to Isis.
Despite numerous discoveries over the past 20 years enhancing understanding of the Ptolemaic period, including skeletal remains, Cleopatra’s tomb remains elusive.
