New Updates Revealed during Hunt for Cleopatra's Long-Lost Tomb

Rana Atef

Last March, more findings about the search of Cleopatra's tomb in Egypt have been detected by Dr. Kathleen Martinez, a determined archaeologist who has been searching for Cleopatra’s tomb in Egypt since 2005.

In 2022, Martinez claimed that she, along with with her working team discovered a tunnel in the Mediterranean Sea which may potentially lead to the tomb of Cleopatra. Later in February 2024, she represented her latest findings in a lecture titled "Dominican Archaeological Mission in Egypt: Cleopatra; search and findings."

Martinez searched the possible locations for Cleopatra's tomb and narrowed down them. She thought Taposiris Magna temple, "Great tomb of Osiris" could be the place of the Queen's tomb.

The researcher searched for the proof to confirm her theory that the temple was dedicated to the goddess Isis for 500 years, where Cleopatra proclaimed herself. The proof is a plate that carries the basic information of the temple. She found a plate with “The King of high and low Egypt Ptolemy V lives forever beloved by Isis, son of Ptolemy IV King of high and low Egypt, and his wife, Arsenoe III, both benevolent Gods, consecrated this temple to the mother Isis.”

This was a proof that the temple was built for Isis.

During the work in Egypt she along with her team discovered another temple beside it, in addition to unearthing some coins signed with Queen Cleopatra. After discovering one temple, she believed that the second could be in the sea.

She reached out to the sub-aquatic archaeologist Robert Ballard and began her work to explore the submerged Alexandria with approval from the local government. Egypt offered resources and equipment.