A submerged port discovered near a temple complex west of Alexandria, Egypt may be the key to finding Cleopatra’s lost tomb, according to archaeologists.
The port was found outside the ruins of the Taposiris Magna temple complex. In its prime, the complex and its surrounding town was a crucial hub for trade, with goods transported across the lake or ferried through via overland merchant routes bound for Alexandria.
However, the true significance of the site may have only been recently guessed. In a landmark study spearheaded by archaeologist Kathleen Martinez, working in partnership with oceanographer Bob Ballard—of the RMS Titanic fame—and a crew of underwater archaeologists, located the submerged port offshore from Taposiris Magna at a depth of 12 meter.
As first reported in Heritage Daily, the underwater site consists of a vast series of structures measuring some 6 meters high, arranged in rows, and including columns, cemented blocks, polished stone floors, and various amphora (a thin-necked, two-handled storage vessel used primarily for transporting liquids), all dated to the reign of Cleopatra VII. A historic figure of mythic stature, she led the Ptolemaic Egypt from 51 to 30 BCE, making her the last active pharaoh of the Hellenistic. Her reign and life ended with Egypt’s annexation into the Roman Empire.
Martinez previously proposed a theory that Cleopatra was transported to Taposiris Magna following her death and then carried through a 1,300-metre-long underground tunnel (found by Martinez in 2022) in the direction of the port, before being entombed in a still-unknown location. According to this theory, the tomb could have fallen victim to the seismic activity and rising sea levels that led to the sinking and submergence of sites across the Egyptian Mediterrean coastline.
Of the search for Cleopatra’s tomb, Martínez told Heritage Daily, “I’m not going to stop.”
“For me,” she added, “it’s a matter of time.”
