Archeologists have unearthed a trove of artifacts at the Taposiris Magna temple complex near Alexandria, Egypt, where some researchers believe the tomb of Cleopatra VII is located.
Among the findings reported by Dominican archaeologist Kathleen Martinez, who has been digging at the site since 2005 in search of Cleopatra VII’s tomb, were 337 ancient coins bearing the queen’s face, a marble statue, and ceremonial vessels from between the 3rd and 1st century, known as the Ptolemaic Era.
The findings were made by Martinez in collaboration with the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña in Santo Domingo and announced by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities earlier this month.
Martinez told PBS she believes that Cleopatra, the last ruler of Egypt before the Roman conquest in 30 BCE, is buried in the temple complex. Previously, other theories pointed to Alexandria as the resting place for the queen. The archaeologist reported that the white marble head found in Taposiris Magna depicts the face of Cleopatra, but some archaeologists disagree, citing marked discrepancies between the artifact and other known portraits of the queen. Other discoveries included oil lamps, cosmetic containers, catacombs from the 4th century, and an unspecified tomb.
According to some legends, Cleopatra died by suicide by inducing a venomous snake bite in 30 BCE alongside her lover, the Roman general Marc Antony.
Harvard Associate Professor of Classics Irene Soto Marín told Hyperallergic that Cleopatra may have taken her own life to escape being paraded through Rome as a spoil of war. But the location of the queen’s burial site remains a mystery, as do the tombs of all the rulers of the Ptolemaic dynasty, the longest and richest Egyptian dynasty, Marín said.
While Marín isn’t sure why these tombs haven’t been uncovered, she speculated that the missing graves are probably all together and underwater. Taposiris Magna happens to be on the coast and parts of Ancient Alexandria are now underwater.
Particularly notable to Marín, who is writing a book on Ancient Egyptian coinage, are the 337 coins discovered by Martinez’s group. An unspecified number of the coins contain minted side-profile portraits of Cleopatra VII, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Viewing photos of the coins, Marín said the artifacts bearing the side profile of Cleopatra appear to be tetradrachms, which are made from silver. During Cleopatra’s rule, Marín said, Cleopatra increased the minting of bronze and silver coins in a “mini monetary reform.”
“They are coins that were minted in a period where Cleopatra was allowing the monetary system to recover from earlier periods where there was a lower output of coinage,” Marín said. After Egypt became a Roman state, Romans allowed Egypt to retain its currency, she said, meaning they continued to circulate after the queen’s death.
Marín noted that the image minted on the coins is an “official” portrait of Cleopatra.
“This is the most seen image of any emperor or any queen in antiquity,” Marín said. “The only place where a regular ‘Joe Schmo’ would see that image of their ruler … everyone saw coins.”
The image of Cleopatra on the coins has a sharper nose than that of the recently unearthed marble figure, which to Marín indicates that the latter is not a portrait of the queen. If the sculpture was meant to depict Cleopatra, she said, artists would have probably modeled it after her official portrait. However, the marble head is wearing a royal diadem headdress, she noted, suggesting the likeness of some other Hellenistic queen.
Famous for her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, Cleopatra’s life “had all the makings of a Hollywood story,” which fuels interest in discovering her tomb, Marín said.
But Marín said she is most excited about the hoard of coins from the recent dig and other common objects that would have been used by the local population, like lamps.
“How did that 99% of the population of Egypt live, and not the 1%?” Marín said. “I find it more exciting when we learn more about the regular people … so I hope that archeology moves towards explor[ing] the people who are not as easily represented in antiquity.”
