Imagine being this close to discovering Cleopatra’s lost tomb! A woman archaeologist, Kathleen Martinez, has spent nearly two decades searching for it, and she might have finally cracked the code. She believes Cleopatra was buried in a temple called Taposiris Magna, near Alexandria, instead of the famous pyramids. Recent discoveries, like hidden tunnels and mysterious burial chambers, hint that she could be right. If she actually finds Cleopatra’s final resting place, it would be one of the biggest archaeological discoveries in history. Until then, the mystery of the legendary queen’s tomb remains unsolved—but maybe not for long! Credit:
Caesarion: By Sdwelch1031, CC0 1.0, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caesarion.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ :
Cleopatra's Tomb in Algeria: By Rchrischris, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra%27s_Tomb_in_Algeria.jpg
Standing Osiris: By Jeff Dahl, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Standing_Osiris_edit1.svg
Cleopatra Mint Alexandria: By Otto Nickl, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra_Mint_Alexandria.jpg
Philae Temple Egypt Goddess Isis: By Kim Bach, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/ , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philae_Temple_Egypt_Goddess_Isis_As_Angel_Mural_Artwork_2004-10-11.jpg
CC BY 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ :
Second Pylon: By Jorge Láscar, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Second_Pylon_(14284182329).jpg
Cleopatra Cæsarion and Ptolemy: By Boston Public Library, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra_C%C3%A6sarion_and_Ptolemy_(cropped).jpg
Dr. Ballard visit: By Titanic Belfast, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr._Ballard_visit_2023_(52976464273)_(cropped).jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ :
TaposirisTempleChurch: By Roland Unger, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TaposirisTempleChurch.jpg
Ancient Egyptian medical instruments: By Jeff Dahl, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ancient_Egyptian_medical_instruments.jpg
TaposirisTempleCourt: By Roland Unger, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TaposirisTempleCourt.jpg
TaposirisTemplePylons: By Roland Unger, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TaposirisTemplePylons.jpg
Cleopatra / Twentieth Century Fox and co-producers
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
Caesarion: By Sdwelch1031, CC0 1.0, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caesarion.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ :
Cleopatra's Tomb in Algeria: By Rchrischris, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra%27s_Tomb_in_Algeria.jpg
Standing Osiris: By Jeff Dahl, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Standing_Osiris_edit1.svg
Cleopatra Mint Alexandria: By Otto Nickl, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra_Mint_Alexandria.jpg
Philae Temple Egypt Goddess Isis: By Kim Bach, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/ , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philae_Temple_Egypt_Goddess_Isis_As_Angel_Mural_Artwork_2004-10-11.jpg
CC BY 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ :
Second Pylon: By Jorge Láscar, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Second_Pylon_(14284182329).jpg
Cleopatra Cæsarion and Ptolemy: By Boston Public Library, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra_C%C3%A6sarion_and_Ptolemy_(cropped).jpg
Dr. Ballard visit: By Titanic Belfast, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr._Ballard_visit_2023_(52976464273)_(cropped).jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ :
TaposirisTempleChurch: By Roland Unger, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TaposirisTempleChurch.jpg
Ancient Egyptian medical instruments: By Jeff Dahl, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ancient_Egyptian_medical_instruments.jpg
TaposirisTempleCourt: By Roland Unger, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TaposirisTempleCourt.jpg
TaposirisTemplePylons: By Roland Unger, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TaposirisTemplePylons.jpg
Cleopatra / Twentieth Century Fox and co-producers
Animation is created by Bright Side.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz
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https://www.shutterstock.com
https://www.eastnews.ru
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For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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FunTranscript
00:00No man shall ever find my tomb.
00:02That's what, according to rumors, Cleopatra once said.
00:06Rumor has it, it really wasn't about the gender.
00:09She wanted no living soul to disturb her, and I think she meant that no human would
00:14ever discover the location of her grave.
00:16But surprisingly, it was indeed a woman who was closer than anyone before to finally discovering
00:22the queen's resting place.
00:25Meet Kathleen Martinez Berry, a criminal lawyer turned archaeologist.
00:29She got so intrigued with Cleopatra's story that she packed her bags and went to Egypt
00:34with no official support and even no permission from the authorities.
00:39All she had was pure determination to find the queen's tomb.
00:43You could say Kathleen had always been ahead of the game.
00:46She skipped grades in school, mastered piano, chess, swimming, and martial arts, and grew
00:52up listening to top intellectuals debating in her home.
00:55And she even got her law degree at just 19, and archaeology was her side passion.
01:01She had never actually been to Egypt, never dug up a single artifact.
01:05But her fascination with Cleopatra went all the way back to an argument with her father
01:10in 1990.
01:11That day, she walked into his library looking for a copy of Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare.
01:18Her dad, Fausto Martinez, a professor and legal expert, casually called Cleopatra a
01:25seductress.
01:26Kathleen wasn't having it.
01:27She fired back, arguing that history had been totally unfair to Cleopatra.
01:32The Romans, she said, wanted to destroy her reputation.
01:36And for centuries, people had just believed their version of the story.
01:40The debate went on for hours, and in the end, her father admitted maybe he had judged Cleopatra
01:46too harshly.
01:48That conversation changed everything for Kathleen.
01:51From that day on, she read every ancient text she could find, especially Plutarch's account
01:56of Cleopatra and Mark Antony.
01:58The more she learned, the more convinced she became that Cleopatra wasn't just some queen
02:03who fell for the wrong guy.
02:05She was a genius, playing a dangerous political game to keep Egypt independent.
02:10And the more she read, the more she started thinking, what if everyone had been looking
02:15for Cleopatra's tomb in the wrong place?
02:18That thought stuck with her.
02:20When she was caring for her second child, she earned a Master's in Archaeology, multitasking.
02:26That reignited an obsession that would take over her life, uncovering the truth about
02:31Cleopatra.
02:32Even though most experts believe that Cleopatra's tomb, along with the final resting place of
02:3713 other Ptolemaic rulers, lies somewhere beneath modern-day Alexandria, Dr. Martinez
02:44has a different idea.
02:45She believes Cleopatra was buried at Tapasiris Magna, an ancient temple dedicated to Osiris,
02:52the Egyptian deity of the afterlife.
02:54But she still needed an ancient foundation plate.
02:58These plates, about the size of a smartphone, were placed beneath important temple structures
03:03and often contained inscriptions explaining when and why the temple was built.
03:08If she could find a plate that confirmed the temple was dedicated to Isis, Cleopatra's
03:13patron deity, she'd have solid proof that this was the right place to look.
03:18Nothing could deter Martinez.
03:20She excavated the entire temple site, digging deeper than anyone before her.
03:25Her team found coins with Cleopatra's name and face stamped on them.
03:29It meant Cleopatra had a direct connection to this site.
03:34Then they uncovered something even more interesting – a tunnel used to bring water to people,
03:39leading straight from the temple into the Mediterranean Sea.
03:43So if parts of the temple had already sunken into the water, could Cleopatra's tomb be
03:48down there too?
03:50Martinez needed proof to convince Egyptian authorities to let her search underwater.
03:55And against all odds, she found the missing foundation plate.
03:59On it, the pharaoh offered a large area of Nubia to deity Isis.
04:04That was it – the confirmation she needed.
04:07The temple was indeed dedicated to Isis, proving her theory wasn't just speculation.
04:13If one temple was on land, Martinez suspected the second temple, possibly Cleopatra's
04:19tomb, had collapsed into the sea.
04:22She needed help from experts in underwater archaeology.
04:25So she reached out to Robert Ballard, the guy who discovered the Titanic.
04:30With support from the Egyptian authorities, she and her team began exploring the waters
04:34off the coast of Alexandria.
04:37And what they found was mind-blowing.
04:40Underwater, they discovered massive stone structures, some standing 6 to 10 feet tall,
04:45right where the coastline would've been thousands of years ago.
04:49They also found basalt blocks, the same material used in the statues from the first temple.
04:55That meant one thing – those weren't just random rocks.
04:59They were the remains of a lost city, buried beneath the sea for centuries.
05:04We can only wait and see whether Martinez and her team will be able to unravel one of
05:09the greatest mysteries of the past left by the outstanding woman that was Cleopatra.
05:15Here's some backstory.
05:17After her father, Ptolemy VII, passed away, Egypt's throne went to both Ptolemy VIII
05:23and Cleopatra, or so it seemed.
05:25Cleopatra, just 18 at the time, allegedly married her 10-year-old brother.
05:31Yeah, ancient royalty had some different customs, though there's no solid proof of that.
05:36But sibling love didn't last long.
05:38Young Ptolemy decided he wanted all the power for himself, and tried to push Cleopatra out.
05:45Forced to flee the country, she didn't just sit around feeling sorry for herself.
05:49She raised an army, ready to march back and take what was hers.
05:53That's how, at 21, she was already in the Sinai Desert, leading an army and planning
05:59her return to the throne.
06:01By that time, Cleopatra had already been locked in a powerful political – and not only political
06:07– alliance with Julius Caesar.
06:10In June 47 BC, she gave birth to a son, Ptolemy Caesar, better known as Caesarian, who, many
06:17believe, was Caesar's child.
06:20But that didn't stop her from playing by Egyptian royal rules.
06:24And her husband number two, her other brother, Ptolemy XIV.
06:28Yep, despite her ongoing affair with Caesar, Cleopatra married yet another sibling because,
06:34in her world, keeping the throne in the family was the name of the game.
06:40Marriage aside, Cleopatra's bond with Caesar stayed strong.
06:44She even traveled to Rome with Ptolemy XIV for a state visit.
06:48But instead of playing the role of a dutiful queen, she stayed in Caesar's private villa
06:53by the Tiber River.
06:55But after Julius Caesar lost his life in 44 BCE, on the Ides of March, Cleopatra's political
07:02standing became shaky.
07:04To make matters worse, her brother-husband Ptolemy XIV passed away soon after, and some
07:10suspect Cleopatra had a hand in it, leaving her as the sole ruler of Egypt.
07:16Meanwhile, back in Rome, Mark Antony was rising to power as Caesar's presumed successor.
07:22Planning to size up the Queen of Egypt, he summoned Cleopatra, and she did not disappoint.
07:28Sailing into town on the lavish barge dressed as a deity, Cleopatra made quite an entrance.
07:35Antony was instantly mesmerized.
07:37So much so that he left his third wife back in Rome and followed Cleopatra to Alexandria,
07:43where their relationship turned into a full-blown royal affair.
07:47The two had three children together.
07:50Together they waged war against Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, in a battle for control
07:55of the Roman Empire.
07:57The last time the queen was seen, she was in her mausoleum, dressed in full royal splendor,
08:03diadem on her head, lying on what Plutarch called a golden couch.
08:07When Antony and Cleopatra lost at Actium, Octavian's forces marched into Alexandria.
08:15Cleopatra apparently knew the end was near, so she locked herself inside her mausoleum
08:20surrounded by gold, silver, pearls, and priceless art.
08:24Those were the treasures she threatened to burn rather than let the Romans take them.
08:28Antony, meanwhile, wasn't going to let the Romans capture him alive.
08:33He wounded himself with his own sword, but before he passed away, he was carried to Cleopatra's
08:39side.
08:40She held him as he took his last breath in her arms.
08:43A little over a week later, Cleopatra made her own choice.
08:48Rather than face humiliation as Octavia's prisoner, she ended her life.
08:53Legend says it was the bite of a deadly asp, though history isn't quite clear on that.
08:58At the time, Cleopatra was only 39.
09:02Sounds like a rather full life to me!