Lost Port Discovery in Egypt Could Reveal Cleopatra’s Final Resting Place!
Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a vast, submerged port off Egypt’s northern coast, a breakthrough that could hold fresh clues to one of history’s most enduring mysteries: the final resting place of Queen Cleopatra.
The site lies near Taposiris Magna, an ancient temple complex around 30 miles west of Alexandria, which some scholars have long believed may be linked to Egypt’s last pharaoh.
Photo Credit: National Geographic
The newly identified harbour sits about 40 feet below the Mediterranean. Divers found stone structures more than six metres high, polished floors, columns, anchors, cement blocks and fragments of amphorae dating back to the Ptolemaic era. Evidence suggests that Taposiris Magna was not just a religious centre but also a thriving hub of trade, connecting overland routes and Lake Mareotis with Alexandria.
This discovery is the latest step in a 20-year investigation led by Dominican archaeologist Dr Kathleen Martínez, who has devoted her career to the search for Cleopatra’s elusive tomb. While most experts believe the queen was buried in Alexandria, Martínez argues the evidence points firmly to Taposiris Magna, a temple dedicated to Osiris, the god of death and rebirth.
Martínez’s theory gained momentum in 2022 when her team discovered a 1,300-metre rock-cut tunnel beneath the temple, partly submerged and stretching towards the sea. Within it, they uncovered jars and ceramics dating from Cleopatra’s time. Intriguingly, the newly revealed port appears to align with this tunnel, hinting at a larger, integrated network that may have played a role in the queen’s burial.
Working alongside Bob Ballard, the oceanographer famed for discovering the Titanic, the team used sonar scans and diving surveys to map the seabed. Their findings included storage areas, man-made foundations and clear signs of ancient maritime activity. Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has since hailed the discovery as proof of extensive seafaring at the site during the Ptolemaic period.
Photo Credit: National Geographic
Cleopatra and her Roman ally and lover Mark Antony died in 30 BCE after their defeat at the Battle of Actium. Ancient writers claimed they were buried together, but their tomb has never been found. Much of Alexandria’s royal quarter was swallowed by the sea after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 365 CE, and further seismic shifts likely pulled parts of Taposiris Magna underwater as well.
Martínez believes Cleopatra may have deliberately chosen a burial place beyond Octavian’s reach, somewhere imbued with symbolism and safeguarded from Rome’s control. Finds at the temple, including coins with Cleopatra’s image, gold-leaf-covered mummies and pottery, support the theory that the site was significant during her reign. The underwater port adds yet another layer of evidence.
The discoveries will feature in Cleopatra’s Final Secret, a new National Geographic documentary airing on 25th September. For Martínez, though, the port is only part of a larger journey:
“We will continue searching on land and underwater,” she said. “This is the beginning of a huge task.”
The mystery of Cleopatra’s tomb remains unsolved, but with each new find at Taposiris Magna, we may be edging closer to answering one of history’s greatest questions.