A MARBLE bust believed to have the face of legendary Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII carved into it has been discovered in a recent excavation.
The white marble statue, which depicts a woman wearing a royal crown, was found under the walls of the ancient Tapuziris Magna temple, in western Alexandria, Egypt.
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It is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.
Kathleen Martinez, who was leading the dig, believes the statue depicts Cleopatra VII.
However, some archaeologists say the bust represents someone else.
“I looked at the bust carefully. It is not Cleopatra at all. It is Roman,” former Egyptian minister of antiquities Zahi Hawass told Live Science.
He noted that during the queen’s time, pharaohs were portrayed in Egyptian art styles, and not Roman.
Other archaeologists have suggested the bust belongs to a princess who lived after Cleopatra’s death in 30 BC.
Cleopatra VII, whose reign lasted from 51 to 30 BC, is the Egyptian queen who famously romanced Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
The dig unearthed about 350 coins, many showing an image of Cleopatra VII.
A pottery set, oil lamps, limestone pots for preserving food and cosmetics, several bronze statues, a bronze ring dedicated to goddess Hathor, and an amulet engraved with the phrase “Ra’s justice has risen” were also found.
The team discovered a limestone bust of a king, who was wearing the Nemes, a special headdress worn only by pharaohs in ceremonies.
Although, archaeologists have been unable to determine the identity of this king.
This cache of treasure is understood to be a “foundation deposit” – a trove of artefacts buried before Egyptians began construction on an important structure.
The artefacts have helped date the temple to the Late Baltic Age, and the construction of its walls to the 1st century BC.
Remains of a Greek temple from the 4th century BC have also been discovered.
The temple, destroyed sometime between the 2nd century BC and the early Roman period, includes an advanced tunnel system deep underground.
The tunnels connect Lake Mariout to the Mediterranean Sea, meaning researchers had to undertake preliminary excavations underwater.
Submerged sections of the temple have revealed man-made structures, human remains and “vast quantities” of pottery, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement.
A large tomb with 20 catacombs was unearthed, alongside another tomb beneath an ancient lighthouse.
The Egyptian ministry hailed the discoveries as “pivotal” to understanding the late Ptolemaic period.
A brief history of Ancient Egypt
Here’s everything you need to know…
- The Ancient Egyptians were an advanced civilisation who at one point owned a huge portion of the globe
- The civilisation began about 5,000 years ago when ancient humans began building villages along the River Nile
- It lasted for about 3,000 years and saw the building of complex cities centuries ahead of their time – as well as the famous Great Pyramids
- The Ancient Egyptians were experts at farming and construction
- They invented a solar calendar, and one of the world’s earliest writing systems: The hieroglyph
- The Egyptians were ruled by kings and queens called pharaohs
- Religion and the afterlife were a huge part of Ancient Egyptian culture. They had over 2,000 gods
- Pharaohs built huge elaborate tombs to be buried in, some of which were pyramids – at the time among the largest buildings in the world
- The Egyptians believed in life after death, and important people’s corpses were mummified to preserve their bodies for the afterlife
- The Ancient Egyptian empire fell due to a mix of factors, including wars with other empires and a 100-year period of drought and starvation
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