Dr. Kathleen Martinez discovers a tunnel in the Mediterranean Sea that could potentially lead to Cleopatra’s tomb. (Photo: Mary Harrsch)
JAKARTA – An archaeologist has been obsessed with searching for Cleopatra’s tomb in Egypt since 2005. He has also released an update on the whereabouts of the ancient Egyptian queen’s final resting place.
After two years of excavations at the new location, archaeologist Dr. Kathleen Martinez and her team have discovered a tunnel in the Mediterranean Sea that could potentially lead to Cleopatra’s tomb.
Greek Reporter reported, Thursday (7/3/2024), the latest news about the hunt for Cleopatra’s tomb was announced on February 13 2024. The archaeologist spread the word through an advertisement on Instagram entitled ‘Dominican Archaeological Mission in Egypt: Cleopatra; search and discovery’.
He displays his figure when giving lectures in Spanish. This presentation was then translated by two of his followers, then presented again in a seven-minute video.
Dr. Martinez has been searching for Cleopatra’s tomb for nearly 20 years. He explained in his presentation that all 14 of Ptolemy’s Pharaohs from Alexander to Cleopatra have still not been found.
The general consensus among Egyptologists is that they were all buried in the ancient city of Alexandria, now submerged in the Mediterranean Sea. In his research, Dr. Martinez narrowed down the options for the location of Cleopatra’s tomb, concluding that it was most likely at the temple of Taposiris Magna, meaning ‘great tomb of Osiris’.
The researcher had been searching for specific items to support his theory that the temple had been dedicated to the Goddess Isis for 500 years, whom Cleopatra claimed was her reincarnation.
The artifact in question is a foundation plate, which appears to be a stone tablet the size of an iPhone placed under the main structural stone. On it is engraved important information about when and why the temple was built.
Archaeological missions have searched for the plates since the 1800s, some of them ordered by Napoleon, but all have yielded no satisfactory results. However, Dr. Martinez was committed to the goal and decided to excavate the entire temple.
What to Find When Searching for Cleopatra’s Tomb in Egypt?
While working in Egypt, Dr. Martinez and his team discovered another temple next to it, and also unearthed a coin with ‘Queen Cleopatra’ written on one side and her face on the other. The Dominican archaeologist also discovered a processional path that ran past the main temple and into the Mediterranean Sea, but he needed approval to explore it, with authorities requesting a plate as proof. Luckily, he found it.
