Greetings!  I hope that things are going well.  It is March, so I am sure some schools are going to be on spring break soon.  Today I am going to do a documentary on Cleopatra.  This documentary is called The Hunt for Cleopatra’s Secret Tomb.  It has a runtime of 51:43. 

The most famous and most powerful woman in history was Cleopatra.  She was pharaoh of Egypt.  However, despite this fame and power, there are some details of her life that are not well known.  She would have been a skilled politician who worked to eliminate her rivals.  She died young after reigning for twenty years.  Over the past few years, more and more details of Cleopatra’s reign have been discovered.  Using the latest finds and technology, more information will be revealed about this Pharaoh. 

She was a woman described as scandalous and domineering, however, she was a noted politician.  Her name was Cleopatra and she was a woman who was more legend than flesh.  A group of archeologists is leading an excavation in the north of Egypt to help this legend become flesh.  It is said that this site was the final burial place of Cleopatra.  There was no description of where she was buried and if her final resting place is discovered it would send shockwaves throughout the archeological world.

The story begins with Cleopatra’s birth.  Even the circumstances of her birth are obscure.  She descended from the Macedonia-Greek Ptolemy’s.  Her mother was unknown.  Perhaps her mother was an Egyptian.  Her father educated her very well.  She was growing up to be a political warrior.  The story transitions to Kathleen Martinez, who has explored Taposiris Magna.  She has spent fifteen years at the time of the documentary looking for Cleopatra’s Tomb.  She believes the tomb is located at Taposiris Magna, contrary to the beliefs of Zahi Hawass.  However, he admires Kathleen’s determination.

Martinez is following the trail of Cleopatra here because of the way Cleopatra tried herself to the goddess Isis.  On the Taposiris Magna site, there is a destroyed temple dedicated to Isis on the site.  The Martinez team has gone over the site with a fine-toothed tomb and may have discovered such a temple on the site.  Growing up Cleopatra may have visited the site.

Then the documentary talks about how she rose to power, and Cleopatra would have killed her way to the top.  Cleopatra was the eldest of five children and rose to power at the age of eighteen.  She married her little brother Ptolemy and they had to tolerate each other, but this marriage could only last for so long.  A discovery sheds light on the early years of her reign: a document that she signed herself.  Cleopatra tried to absolute power, however, she had to navigate the terms of her father’s will and her brother’s counselors.  There were too many cooks in the kitchen and Cleopatra would flee Alexandria.  Her life was in danger, which would make a good topic for an alternative history.  Cleopatra was determined to make her way back.  She would build up her supporters and her army.

Back to the Taposiris Magna, the site is home to massive tunnels.  Over the years sand has filled the tunnels but Kathleen and her team have uncovered them.  The tunnels would have carried water to a long-lost town.  Martinez believes that the tunnels would have also provided a hidden place for people to move around.

The power plays between Cleopatra and Ptolemy continued and young Ptolemy would overplay his hand.  Cleopatra would capitalize on this mistake.  What was Ptolemy’s mistake?  How does Cleopatra return to power?  What does she do when she returns to power?  What about Kathleen Martinez’s expedition?  Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more.

I am so glad that I found this updated documentary, as I have done the Secrets of the Dead documentary on Cleopatra.  This was very fast-moving.  The information was very good and it was nice to see an update on Kathleen’s expeditions.  I liked the recreations and the portrayal of Cleopatra.  This would be a good documentary to show to a history class and I would use this for research purposes.

Good morning everyone, today I will share another YouTube video perfect for a class on Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome.  The video is from the Secrets of the Dead series: Cleopatra’s Lost Tomb.  It tells the story of Cleopatra as a historical figure, not focusing on the myth.

Kathleen Martinez leads an expedition to find Cleopatra’s lost tomb.  She is a criminal defense lawyer and approaches the search for Cleopatra’s tomb as a potential client.  She came up with a new theory as to where Cleopatra was buried.  Her search starts in a temple complex known as Taposiris Magna Necropolis.  The Taposiris Magna Necropolis was seen as an unfinished temple.  The bare walls did not hint at any period in history.  These empty walls caused scholars to write off the site.  However, Martinez disagrees with that and that it was a functioning temple and that it was the burial site of Cleopatra.  She was greeted with skepticism; however, she was undeterred. 

Cleopatra was a controversial figure as well as a mystery.  Lately, scholars are finding new interpretations of Cleopatra.  She is seen as a scholar.  She is seen as politically astute.  Cleopatra made sure that her people were fed.  She is aware of the problems of her kingdom and wants to do something about them.  Cleopatra worked to gain allies in Rome.  A document cited that Cleopatra wanted to give tax concessions to a Roman.  Cleopatra’s death is even poorly documented.  The story goes she was poisoned with the bite of an asp.  After her death, what happened to her body is unknown.

In the meantime, Kathleen received permission to dig at the site and for eight weeks did not find anything.  She was confident that she would find something at the site, but they were disappointed.  However, on the final day before the permit was to expire, the team found a hidden shaft.  With the discovery of the shaft, they were allowed to continue with the excavation.  Would they find more secret shafts?  Would one of these shafts contain the tomb of Cleopatra?  This shaft was not found by professional archeologists. 

As the expedition moved forward, the team discovered fragile tablets.  They were from the temple’s foundation.  Ptolemy IV laid the original foundation for the temple.  This also proved the link between the temple and the Ptolemies.  It was a shocking find that shook the archeological community.  When the trench was extended they found another building, another temple in the Taposiris Magna complex.  It was a temple that was dedicated to the goddess Isis.

Cleopatra, as queen, aligned herself with Isis.  She also presented herself as Isis.  It was the way she identified herself as Egyptian.  Perhaps, Cleopatra decided to be buried in the Taposiris Magna complex because of her identity as Isis.  Inside the Isis Temple, the team found coins with Cleopatra’s image on it.  Martinez theorized that the temple was still in use during Cleopatra’s reign.  The fact that Cleopatra put her image on bronze coins showed that the Queen wanted to be seen by the public.  Older rulers put their images on silver coins.  Silver coins were used by the rich, but by putting her image on bronze coins, Cleopatra made sure everyone knew her.

Just outside the temple, another shaft was discovered by Kathleen’s team.  Kathleen goes underground to explore the shaft discovering two tunnels.  There were additional vertical shafts in the tunnel.  On top of discovering shafts and passageways, they found pieces of the Isis Temple.  Additionally, they also found human remains.

To continue to learn more about Cleopatra’s Lost Tomb, continue to watch the documentary.

You can access the YouTube video here.

You can follow Kathleen Martinez's work here.