Hawass on the world of Cleopatra (3)

THE SERIES CONTINUES: The world of Cleopatra – III. Zahi Hawass continues his four-part series of articles with the search for the tomb of the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra and her Roman lover Mark Antony (Ahram Online).

However, no one has ever begun a massive search for the tomb of Cleopatra. This is likely because everyone thought that her tomb was next to her palace, which we know is now underwater in the royal quarter of Shatby.

In October 2004, Kathleen Martinez, an archaeologist and historian from the Dominican Republic, came to Egypt to meet me and present to me her theory. She had developed a theory that Cleopatra and Mark Antony were buried inside a temple dedicated to Isis and Osiris at Taposiris Magna, a location about 45 km west of Alexandria near an area called Borg Al-Arab.

The rest of the essay gives a detailed account of the excavation history of this site at Taposiris Magna.

I noted the first essay in the series here and the second here.

PaleoJudaica posts on Taposiris Magna, and the so-far unsuccessful search for Cleopatra's tomb there, are here, here, here, here, and here. The site was in the news last year with the discovery there of some mummies equipped with golden tongues.

For many posts on Cleopatra VII (the Cleopatra), see here and links. She spoke Hebrew and Aramaic and she had quite a few connections with the land of Israel and ancient Judaism.

UPDATE: I may as well take this opportunity to note a couple of recent articles speculating on Queen Cleopatra's personal affairs.

A Pair of Jeans Actually Made to Fit Cleopatra are Part of Campaign to Curb Textile Waste (Branding in Asia).

While they may look like a ‘normal’ pair of jeans, these were tailored to the long-deceased Egyptian queen. Through cutting-edge 3D scanning, plus historical and genetic research to calculate the timeless style icon’s body shape, these jeans demonstrate the possibility of creating a perfect fit for anyone in the world. As a call to arms, these jeans pave the way for a future where every order can be tailored perfectly to the customer – meaning no returns, and no waste.

The video explains the process in more detail. If they actually do find Cleopatra's tomb, and her body is still in it, it may be possible to test the effectiveness of the process.

What Did Cleopatra Smell Like? Researchers are using chemical analysis to concoct the fragrance possibly worn by the last Egyptian pharaoh (Elaine Velie, Hyperallergic).

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