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Thread: Cleopatra's tomb possibly discovered?

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    Default Cleopatra's tomb possibly discovered?

    Fascinating. Not many historical figures end up being found. Be interesting if it's true.

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    Default Re: Cleopatra's tomb possibly discovered?

    That would be awesome.

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    Veteran Member MissDewdrop's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cleopatra's tomb possibly discovered?

    Very interesting possibility! Though it would certainly be cool if it is Cleopatra's tomb, the find itself deserves recognition and scholarly attention. The writer of the article seems to imply that the head archaeologist is channeling the romanticized version of the Cleopatra's life rather than other artifacts.

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    Default Re: Cleopatra's tomb possibly discovered?

    What's interesting is how incredibly slanted UK newspapers
    are....Zawhe is not a flamboyant archeologist, he's the guy who's
    been in charge of all antiquities in Egypt for over 20 years....you
    can't brush the sand off a rock without his permission under penalty
    of deportation or inprissonment for grave robbing, and the british
    hate him because he forced them to return truckloads of stuff they
    stole from Egypt over the past 100 years, including items from King
    Tut's tomb.

    Anyway yeah, he's been looking for Cleopatra for years...and for
    family members of king tut, which include Nefertiti...because he's
    smart enough to know that it keep him, and the digs, in the
    headlines, and therefore keeps donations rolling in

    I hope they find her, that would be fantastic. I still want to know
    what's hidden under that damned sphinx!

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    Default Re: Cleopatra's tomb possibly discovered?

    I love how they put a pic of him in the fedora on the article. LOL. Wonder why they chose THAT pic...

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    Default Re: Cleopatra's tomb possibly discovered?

    Whoa, great thread!

    The fedora is a bit much, yeah, but these guys have figured out that image brings in contributions.

    The Romans hated Cleopatra, and much of her reputation as a notorious slut is due to Roman propaganda. Such as the epithet "Woman of 10,000 Mouths', given supposedly due to her oral accomplishments.

    But the Romans were among the most sexist of them all, when it comes down to it. And the wealth of Egypt combined with a rebellious Roman army could have been an irresistible combination. History would have been quite different had Octavian not been so adept at such an early age.

    What;s really interesting, though, are the extant portraits of her. They are not complimentary, which makes the real story all that much more interesting. Cleopatra was a consummate hustler.
    You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.
    Friedrich Nietzsche

    Free your mind, and your ass will follow.
    George Clinton

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    Default Re: Cleopatra's tomb possibly discovered?

    A few things i wonder.

    1) Due to the circumstances surrounding her death, would she have been mummified? That's a long process, and considering that Octavian was on the hunt for her as a trophy at the time it they may not have had time to do it. In which case there might be some dust on the bottom of a sarcophagus but that'd be about it. The process of mummification begins with drying out the cadaver with salt for something like 30 days. A long time with half the roman empire looking for trophies, but the Egyptian priests were pretty dedicated, they might have done taken the chance (It would have probably meant death if they were caught with Octavian's trophies).

    2) According to Plutarch, Mark Antony DID die in her presence (after polishing off a glass of wine), but that doesn't mean they were buried together unless she gave specific instructions to do so. Octavian didn't manage to go home with the bodies (though he did take their three kids) and if he'd been able to find them he'd have paraded their corpses through Rome, so it would be well known what happened to them.
    Assuming they could be hidden and mummified, it stands to reason that Cleopatra would have ordered Antony mummified with her (Assuming Plutarch is right). If he wasn't buried in the same tomb, he would be nearby (This usually didn't happen, spouses were usually close by but not in the same tomb, and since these two weren't married it would have taken a direct command to see this done). IF they had time to Mummify them, and IF they can find the Mummies, they can actually reconstruct the faces similar to what forensic artists do with remains of Murder victims found long after their deaths. That would be nifty to see. This isn't very common with historical figures. We know what Julius Caesar looked like from the busts that they'd made, but how accurate are those busts? Did the artist idealize anything to flatter the General/Dictator? In the case of Cleopatra/Antony we might get a chance to see what they REALLY looked like. I can't imagine a stronger connection to the ancient world than a pair of eyes!

    I totally hope this pans out.

    “Had Cleopatra’s nose been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been different.”
    ~Blaise Pascal

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    Default Re: Cleopatra's tomb possibly discovered?

    But as far as I know, the Romans weren't fond of parading corpses through their city.

    Which means once they were dead, there would have been little concern for their bodies, or how they were buried.

    If Antony's body were to be treated with typical. traditional Roman custom, he would have been cremated. OTOH, in the Hellenistic world, things could go any which way.
    You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.
    Friedrich Nietzsche

    Free your mind, and your ass will follow.
    George Clinton

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    Default Re: Cleopatra's tomb possibly discovered?

    Quote Originally Posted by Djoser View Post
    If Antony's body were to be treated with typical. traditional Roman custom, he would have been cremated. OTOH, in the Hellenistic world, things could go any which way.
    By that time he was more Egyptian than Roman, so you never know what he would have wanted. Cleopatra would have had the final say, unless the Romans burned his body and we know that didn't happen. Romans were notorious record keepers, something like that would be recorded somewhere. If the Romans didn't do it i doubt the Egyptians would have, as something like cremation would have seemed abhorrent to them. I suppose this depends on the feelings of the Egyptian priesthood towards Mark Antony if Cleopatra stayed out of it for whatever reason, and her feelings towards him if she didn't. If he was dead and she wanted him with her that would have been pretty much the end of the debate. She, not he, was supposed to be divine. The Egyptian priests would have done anything she asked them to do with him.

    And you may be right about the corpses. Off the top of my head i can't recall any dead bodies of any note drug through rome itself. Crucified on the roads leading to Rome like Sparticus and his army was, maybe, but not in any sort of victory parade. Vercingetorix, for instance, was paraded by a victorious Julius Caesar alive and in chains.

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    Default Re: Cleopatra's tomb possibly discovered?

    Don't forget, either, that the really ancient Egyptian obsession with the preservation of the physical corpse, as a residence for the soul, was no longer of central importance by the time of Cleopatra.

    Mummification for Antony's body was by no means the most likely fate.
    You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.
    Friedrich Nietzsche

    Free your mind, and your ass will follow.
    George Clinton

    ______________________________________

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