Archaeologists have announced that they are very close to discovering the place where the last ruler of Egypt, Cleopatra, and her lover, the Roman general Mark Antony, were buried, in all probability together.
Scientists believe they have pinpointed the exact location where some of the most influential figures in human history are buried.
The mysterious tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony will finally be discovered. It is located in the area of Taposiris Magna, about 30 km from Alexandria, said the famous Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass (pictured).
“I expect very soon to come across their tomb where they were both laid to rest. We are on the right track and we know exactly where we need to dig to find it,” assured Hawass, who is Egypt’s former tourism minister.
Cleopatra and Mark Antony commit suicide in 30 BC. At that time, the ruler of Egypt, the last ruling representative of the Ptolemaic dynasty, was 39 years old, and Mark Antony was 53 years old, notes 20minutos.
Back in February 2013, researchers announced that they had found the bones of Cleopatra’s murdered sister, Arsinoe IV, in Turkey. The remains were discovered as early as 1985 in a ruined temple in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (today’s western Turkey). The archaeologist who claims to have discovered the bones has high hopes for new forensic techniques to definitively identify the find.
At first glance, it appears that the remains belong to the one killed more than 2,000 years ago by order of Queen Arsinoe. But opponents of this view believe that a DNA test cannot confirm whose bones they are because they have been processed too many times. However, the scientists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences who made the discovery are convinced that the remains belong to the classical era of the Egyptian royal family.
Princess Arsinoe is believed to be Cleopatra’s younger half-sister. Their father is believed to be Ptolemy XII Auletus, but it is not known whether the two were from the same mother.
It is known that the two did not love each other. After Caesar’s murder, Cleopatra convinces her lover Mark Antony to kill Arsinoe, as she sees in her a rival in the struggle for power.
