Denying international media’s claims of finding the burial location of Antony and Cleopatra, veteran Egyptologist and former Minister of Antiquities, Zahi Hawas, stated that the news regarding the discovery of the chamber is false.
Writing for the local-media outlet, Al-Ahram Weekly, Hawas stated that media outlets mistakenly spread the news of suspecting to find the temple where the last ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Cleopatra and her lover Mark Antony, are buried, and falsely reported the Taposiris Magna Temple as the location, which is about 45 kilometres west of Alexandria.
Both international and local media portals have been reporting that a discovery of Cleopatra’s burial chamber is highly expected to occur. The news stated that the ministry of antiquities will focus on digging a specific area near the Taposiris Magna Temple in order to find the tomb, where both Cleopatra and Antony are buried together.
Hawas explained that the fake news started spreading from a lecture he was delivering at the University of Palermo in Italy. However, he asserted that during his speech, he insisted that the theory of Cleopatra’s burial place was never his.
“I never believed in the theory that Cleopatra could be buried there, because the ancient Egyptians never buried anyone inside a temple. Temples were built for worship, and this temple was used for the worship of the Goddess Isis. It was therefore unlikely that Cleopatra is buried there,” Hawas wrote in Al-Ahram Weekly.
He added that throughout the excavation of the archaeological area, several precious relics were found, including “a stone that was a gift from Ptolemy V, the king who made the Rosetta Stone.”
