A statue of Cleopatra at the British Museum (Image: Getty)

An archaeologist from the Dominican Republic thinks she may have found the site of Cleopatra's tomb. Kathleen Martínez started her professional career as a criminal lawyer, but packed it in to follow her passion for archaeology.

For two decades she has searched for the tomb of the famous Egyptian Queen, believed by many experts to have been the country's last pharaoh and Ptolemaic ruler. Her quest has taken her to Taposiris Magna, an overlooked temple about 30 miles west of Alexandria in the Egyptian coastal town of Borg El Arab. She and her team believe they may have discovered a vital clue to the whereabouts of Cleopatra's tomb and possibly solved a 2,000-year-old mystery.

Relief of Cleopatra VII as Goddess Hathor, ca 69-30 BC (Image: Getty)

The archaeologists say they have identified a sunken port in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. Their discovery suggests that Taposiris Magna was not only an important religious centre, but also a maritime trading hub, far more expansive than anyone previously realised.

“That makes the temple really important,” Ms Martínez told the website National Geographic. "It had all the conditions to be chosen for Cleopatra to be buried with Mark Antony," she added excitedly.

Ms Martinez and her team unearthed a trove of artefacts and structures at the ruins of Taposiris Magna dating to Cleopatra’s reign in 2022.

They also came across a 4,300-foot tunnel, that headed straight towards the sea and inside which they found ceramic jars and pottery from the time of the Ptolemies.

The former lawyer said the two findings together suggest "the port was active during the time of Cleopatra and before at the beginning of the dynasty.”

Queen Cleopatra VII was born in 69 B.C: and ascended to the throne when just 18, becoming the final ruler of the Ptolemaic period.

Ms Martinez described her as an "extraordinary" character who helped to redefine the role of women. “She was a philosopher. She was a doctor in medicine. She was a chemist. She was a specialist in cosmetology."

After Caesar's assassination, she had an eleven-year passionate relationship with Mark Anthony, before they reportedly both committed suicide after the latter's military defeat to his rival, the Roman ruler Octavian.

Ms Martinez believes Cleopatra wanted to find a hidden place for her body and that of her lover, which was safe from the Romans.

“She had to choose a location where she could feel safe for her afterlife with Mark Antony,” says Martínez.

She considered all the possible temples the queen could have reached from Alexandria within a day. She ultimately narrowed her search down to Taposiris Magna and in October 2005, her team began their search. 

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