Woman Archaeologist Almost Found Cleopatra’s Tomb

no man shall ever find my tomb that's what according to rumors Cleopatra once said rumor has it it really wasn't about the gender she wanted no living soul to disturb her and I think she meant that no human would ever discover the location of her grave but surprisingly it was indeed a woman who was closer than anyone before to finally discovering the queen's resting place meet Kathleen Martinez Bry a criminal lawyer turned archaeologist she got so intrigued with Cleopatra's story that she packed her bags and went to Egypt with no official support and even no permission from the authorities all she had was pure determination to find the queen's tomb now you could say Kathleen had always been ahead of the game she skipped grades in school mastered piano chess swimming and martial arts and grew up listening to top intellectuals debating in her home and she even got her law degree at just 19 and archaeology was her side passion she had never actually been to Egypt never dug up a single artifact but her fascination with Cleopatra went all the way back to an argument with her father in 1990 that day she walked into his library looking for a copy of Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare her dad Fausto Martinez a professor and legal expert casually called Cleopatra a seductress kathleen wasn't having it she fired back arguing that history had been totally unfair to Cleopatra the Romans she said wanted to destroy her reputation and for centuries people had just believed their version of the story the debate went on for hours and in the end her father admitted maybe he had judged Cleopatra too harshly that conversation changed everything for Kathleen from that day on she read every ancient text she could find especially Plutarch's account of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony the more she learned the more convinced she became that Cleopatra wasn't just some queen who fell for the wrong guy she was a genius playing a dangerous political game to keep Egypt independent and the more she read the more she started thinking what if everyone had been looking for Cleopatra's tomb in the wrong place that thought stuck with her when she was caring for her second child she earned a masters in archaeology h multitasking that reignited an obsession that would take over her life uncovering the truth about Cleopatra even though most experts believe that Cleopatra's tomb along with the final resting place of 13 other tomic rulers lies somewhere beneath modern-day Alexandria Dr martinez has a different idea she believes Cleopatra was buried at Taposerus Magna an ancient temple dedicated to Osiris the Egyptian deity of the afterlife but she still needed an ancient foundation plate these plates about the size of a smartphone were placed beneath important temple structures and often contained inscriptions explaining when and why the temple was built if she could find a plate that confirmed the temple was dedicated to Isis Cleopatra's patron deity she'd have solid proof that this was the right place to look nothing could deter Martinez she excavated the entire temple site digging deeper than anyone before her her team found coins with Cleopatra's name and face stamped on them it meant Cleopatra had a direct connection to this site then they uncovered something even more interesting a tunnel used to bring water to people leading straight from the temple into the Mediterranean Sea so if parts of the temple had already sunken into the water could Cleopatra's tomb be down there too martinez needed proof to convince Egyptian authorities to let her search underwater and against all odds she found the missing foundation plate on it the pharaoh offered a large area of Nubia to deed Isis that was it the confirmation she needed the temple was indeed dedicated to Isis proving her theory wasn't just speculation if one temple was on land Martinez suspected the second temple possibly Cleopatra's tomb had collapsed into the sea she needed help from experts in underwater archaeology so she reached out to Robert Boward the guy who discovered the Titanic with support from the Egyptian authorities she and her team began exploring the waters off the coast of Alexandria and what they found was mindblowing underwater they discovered massive stone structures some standing 6 to 10 feet tall right where the coastline would have been thousands of years ago they also found basalt blocks the same material used in the statues from the first temple that meant one thing those weren't just random rocks they were the remains of a lost city buried beneath the sea for centuries now we can only wait and see whether Martinez and her team will be able to unravel one of the greatest mysteries of the past left by the outstanding woman that was Cleopatra here's some backstory after her father Tammy VIIth passed away Egypt's throne went to both Tammy VII and Cleopatra or so it seemed cleopatra just 18 at the time allegedly married her 10-year-old brother yeah ancient royalty had some different customs though there's no solid proof of that but sibling love didn't last long young Tammy decided he wanted all the power for himself and tried to push Cleopatra out forced to flee the country she didn't just sit around feeling sorry for herself she raised an army ready to march back and take what was hers that's how at 21 she was already in the Sinai desert leading an army and planning her return to the throne now by that time Cleopatra had already been locked in a powerful political and not only political alliance with Julius Caesar in June 47 BC she gave birth to a son Tommy Caesar better known as Cesarian who many believe was Caesar's child but that didn't stop her from playing by Egyptian royal rules and her husband number two her other brother Tommy I 14th yep despite her ongoing affair with Caesar Cleopatra married yet another sibling because in her world keeping the throne in the family was the name of the game now marriage aside Cleopatra's bond with Caesar stayed strong she even traveled to Rome with Tommy I 14th for a state visit but instead of playing the role of a beautiful queen she stayed in Caesar's private villa by the Tyber River but after Julius Caesar lost his life in 44 B.CE on the eyides of March Cleopatra's political standing became shaky to make matters worse her brother husband Tommy I 14th passed away soon after and some suspect Cleopatra had a hand in it leaving her as the sole ruler of Egypt meanwhile back in Rome Mark Anthony was rising to power as Caesar's presumed successor wanting to size up the queen of Egypt he summoned Cleopatra and she did not disappoint sailing into town on the lavish barge dressed as a deity Cleopatra made quite an entrance anthony was instantly mesmerized so much so that he left his third wife back in Rome and followed Cleopatra to Alexandria where their relationship turned into a full-blown royal affair the two had three children together together they waged war against Caesar's adopted son Octavian in a battle for control of the Roman Empire the last time the queen was seen she was in her mausoleum dressed in full royal splendor dimm on her head lying on what Plutarch called a golden couch when Anthony and Cleopatra lost at Actium Octaven's forces marched into Alexandria cleopatra apparently knew the end was near so she locked herself inside her mausoleum surrounded by gold silver pearls and priceless art those were the treasures she threatened to burn rather than let the Romans take them anthony meanwhile wasn't going to let the Romans capture him alive he wounded himself with his own sword but before he passed away he was carried to Cleopatra's side she held him as he took his last breath in her arms a little over a week later Cleopatra made her own choice rather than face humiliation as Octavia's prisoner she ended her life legend says it was the bite of a deadly assp though history isn't quite clear on that at the time Cleopatra was only 39 sounds like a rather full life to me .