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Posted on 12/13/2024 4:00:42 PM PST by nickcarraway
Not everyone is convinced.
-Archaeologist Kathleen Martinez, who has been on the hunt for Cleopatra VII’s tomb for nearly 20 years, believes she’s found a bust that depicts the Egyptian queen.
-The claim has put some at odds with Martinez, as other experts say the bust looks nothing like Cleopatra.
-Along with the marble statue, the team also discovered 337 coins—some of which (less controversially) depict Cleopatra.
Lawyer-turned-archaeologist Kathleen Martinez has been on the hunt for Cleopatra VII’s tomb for nearly two decades. And now, she believes that she and her team have just unearthed a small marble bust of the Egyptian queen at the Taposiris Magna temple, west of Alexandria.
It’s not a done deal, though.
There’s no questioning the find’s existence—a small bust that can be held in one hand, carved out of white marble and depicting a female wearing a royal crown, according to a translated statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Who it depicts, though, is the question. While Martinez believes that the statue is a likeness of Queen Cleopatra VII, many other archaeologists see “the facial features of this statute being quite different from those of Queen Cleopatra, so it likely belongs to a princess,” the official statement reads.
“I looked at the bust carefully,” Zahi Hawass, a former Egyptian minister of antiquities not involved in the current excavation, told Live Science. He added he thinks the bust dates to after Cleopatra’s time. “It is not Cleopatra at all; it is Roman.”
Martinez, however, remains unshaken. She is known for her fascination with Cleopatra—whom she claims may have look significantly different than commonly held perceptions indicate—and has been on the search for the tomb of Cleopatra for nearly 20 years. Martinez has been at this particular temple site for more than a decade, believing that it may contain the location of Cleopatra’s tomb, which has never been discovered.
Cleopatra VII, according to Biography.com, was part of the Macedonian dynasty that ruled Egypt. During her reign, she forged political alliances and became romantically involved with Roman military leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. In 51 B.C., Ptolemy XII died, leaving the throne to 18-year-old Cleopatra and her brother, 10-year-old Ptolemy XIII. Likely, as was the custom of the day, the two married. Political turmoil and difficult economic times led to complications between the siblings, and Cleopatra eventually fled to Syria, assembled an army, and went into battle to reclaim her throne. She died in 30 B.C., and was one of antiquity’s most famous rulers.
The current effort at the temple—an excavation undertaken in cooperation with the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena and located near a deep tunnel system that stretches from Lake Marriot to the Mediterranean—focuses on the Taposiris Magna temple, which was founded around 280 B.C. Specifically, it focuses on an outer wall in what could be a foundation deposit, which is a group of items buried to mark the beginning of construction of a major project. Along with the female bust, the team found pieces of a statute of a king wearing a “nemes”—a striped headdress common for pharaohs—a set of weather-related pottery, oil lamps, limestone pots, bronze statues, a two-piece amulet engraved with the phrase “The justice of Ra has risen,” and a bronze ring dedicated to the fertility goddess Hathor. There were also 337 coins, many of which depict Cleopatra.
A collection of pottery dates the section of wall to the 1st century B.C.
The team also uncovered the remains of a Greek-era temple dating to the 4th century B.C., which was likely destroyed about two centuries later. Near this temple, archaeologists found at least 20 tombs and located human remains underwater below what was once an ancient lighthouse.
The hunt for Cleopatra continues.
Am I just being a “cat”? Hmmm....could be.
Big nose Kate?
.
Thanks nickcarraway, you're on a roll tonight.
The rest of the 'taposirismagna' keyword, sorted:
What about King Rootin Tootin?
.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024991/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_cdt_t_54
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0007801/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_cdt_t_19
As long as you didn’t cross her.
The statue was found in a temple area, so I doubt that it’s Cleo.
“Allegations” are for a court of law, not archaeology.
"The Taming of the Shrew" (1967)
"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?"(1966)
Both co-starred her with real-life husband Richard Burton. They funneled the tension of their precarious marriage(s) into their roles in a manner that has never been matched.
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?”
Liz was TERRIFYING in that role! The close-ups and cinematography were awesome! Edward Albee’s Opus, for sure!
Another favorite is ‘BUtterfield 8.’ Liz wasn’t scary, just sad. :( And she won her first Oscar for that film. The novel is great; I love anything by John O’Hara. His, ‘Appointment in Samara’ will forever be a favorite.
OK! ‘Cleopatra’ is going back into the rotation for this winter. :)
Top 10 Facts about Cleopatra’s Costumes
“Cleopatra, 20th Century Fox’s iconic blockbuster, made its mark on film history for a variety of reasons – from the production’s vast over-expenditure which nearly bankrupted the film corporation (they were saved only by the Sound of Music’s success two years later) to the great love affair that developed between the leading stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton during the filming. But, aside from the couple’s smoldering chemistry, it is the film’s startling visuals that stick most memorably in one’s mind; in particular the breathtakingly sumptuous costumes, which saw Taylor dripping with ornate jewellery and draped in chiffon and silks of vibrant hues – not to mention the famed 24-carat gold cape. Here, to celebrate the film’s imminent theatrical re-release, in honour of its 50-year anniversary, we reveal our top 10 facts behind the remarkable Cleopatra wardrobe...”
https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/2865/top-10-facts-about-cleopatras-costumes
My Mom is an AWESOME Seamstress. She was the leading ‘Costume Mistress’ in our local ‘Community Theater’ while I was growing up and for a few decades beyond. Some of her creations rival those found in Hollywood Movies of Old, not to mention her version of ‘Joseph’s Technicolor Dreamcoat’ and her ‘Smokey Bear’ costume that she created for the Wisconsin DNR. :)
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snip..."This life-size 11 7/16 x 10 3/16 x 10 13/16 in. marble head of Alexander the Great is from the Getty Museum. It was made in about 320 B.C. and was found at Megara. The Getty Museum says that Alexander exploited the propaganda possibilities of portraiture and only allowed one sculptor, Lysippos, to carve his likeness."
The bust that was found at the Temple of the Greater Tomb of Osiris. (Taposiris means "Tomb of Osiris".)
Could be, but not, I think based on a comparison with Alexander's bust. Could Be Head of Isis, wife of Osiris. Cleopatra liked to identify with Isis and dressed as Isis when she went to Turkey to meet Mark Anthony. (See below.)
A little information: Cleopatra comes from: κλέος (kléos), meaning “glory,” and πατήρ (pater), The Glory of her Father.
She was highly educated wroted a number of books on botony and herbs (Lost in the fire at the library of Alexandria) Cleopatra Greek queen-ancient Egypt
Cleopatria spoke 8 languages. "Cleopatra VII was the only member of her dynasty who spoke the ancient Egyptian language and read hieroglyphs. Apart from this, she knew ancient Greek, the languages of the Parthians, Jews, Medes, Syrians, Ethiopians, and Arabs." (I recollect from somewhere that she was able to read Akkadian as well.)
Ethnicity of Cleopatra (No, not black or N. African.)
Busts of Cleopatra done around the time she lived.:
Cleopatra VII bust in the Altes Museum, Antikensammlung Berlin.
She did a lot in her 39 years.
She was certainly somebody’s huckleberry!
Bookmarked! :) Thanks for posting!
If this is true, Cleopatra is not the beauty I expected her to be.
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