Eureka! 4,300-Foot-Long Tunnel Under Ancient Egyptian Temple to Osiris! Might we be getting closer to the tomb of Cleopatra VII or ATG?

[Ryro]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-4300-foot-long-tunnel-under-ancient-egyptian-temple-180981099/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=socialmedia&fbclid=IwAR36fKetH9hkE5_Z2KhCQi3GopRD_ffF8_UVu761KMax_s0vFYcgsmTXuVk

They even found coins of Alexander the Great and Cleopatra VII at the site!!

Anyone else have coins from Alexandria, of Alexander, Cleopatra or anything related?

Edited November 11, 2022 by Ryro

[ominus1]

...WOW!...and lQQk....they even had electric lights back then   ^^  :P...haha...kool Ryro...:)  i reckon i'd better post a coin or two also...3 ATG's but no Cleopatra...

Edited November 11, 2022 by ominus1

[kapphnwn]

Closest thing I have is this coin

Tetradrachm of Ptolemy I as Satrap Memphis 322-321 BC In the name and types of Alexander III Obv Head of beardless Herakles wearing lions skin headdress, Rv  Zeus Aetophoros seated left Price 3971 CPE 19 17.20 grms 28 mm Photo by W. Hansen

When I first saw these very impressive coins they were considered to be a lifetime issue and possibly the originators of the crossed legged Zeus seen on the reverse. Naturally as with most things research has shown that that idea was incorrect and that image featuring the Zeus with crossed legs was first struck at the mint of Sidon. 

[Roman Collector]

I have that same Cleopatra VII coin, albeit in lower grade.

Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, 51-30 BCE
AE 40 drachmai; 21.0 mm; 7.32 gm
Alexandria mint, 51-30 BCE
Obv: Diademed head of Cleopatra, hair in bun at back of head, facing right
Rev: [ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ], eagle standing left on thunderbolt, double cornucopiae in field to left, M (for 40) to right
Refs: Sear Greek 7956; Svoronos 1872; BMC 6; Vagi 212; Forrer 110.

 

[DLTcoins]

Dr. Martinez was featured in an episode of the PBS series 'Secrets of the Dead' some six years ago. Then, like now, she was dead certain that Cleo's tomb would be found any day. My impression is that she's a bit eccentric. I suppose as long as the hype keeps coming, so will the funding.

https://www.pbs.org/video/secrets-dead-cleopatras-lost-tomb/extras/

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by DLTcoins

[seth77]

2 hours ago, ominus1 said:

...WOW!...and lQQk....they even had electric lights back then   ^^  :P...haha...kool Ryro...:)  i reckon i'd better post a coin or two also...3 ATG's but no Cleopatra...

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by seth77

[Di Nomos]

9 hours ago, kapphnwn said:

Closest thing I have is this coin

Tetradrachm of Ptolemy I as Satrap Memphis 322-321 BC In the name and types of Alexander III Obv Head of beardless Herakles wearing lions skin headdress, Rv  Zeus Aetophoros seated left Price 3971 CPE 19 17.20 grms 28 mm Photo by W. Hansen

When I first saw these very impressive coins they were considered to be a lifetime issue and possibly the originators of the crossed legged Zeus seen on the reverse. Naturally as with most things research has shown that that idea was incorrect and that image featuring the Zeus with crossed legs was first struck at the mint of Sidon. 

You've shown plenty of great coins, but I  think this is my favourite. Both obv. & rev. are beautiful. The Memphis mint produced very attractive coins.

This coin of mine has a portrait of the deified Alexander on the obverse, and was minted in Alexandria shortly after his death, c. 315 BC.

[Prieure de Sion]

10 hours ago, ominus1 said:

..WOW!...and lQQk....they even had electric lights back then   ^^

Thats not funny 😂 ... at Facebook Comments of a article - some Users say exactly this. 

The news are fake - because there are electric lights at the photo - say some Users.
And the bad is - they don't make joke with there comments - they really mean this are fake news from the "system-media".  🙈

[JayAg47]

Sorry to be a party pooper, but I think it's highly unlikely we'd ever find tombs of Alexander or Cleopatra, simply for the fact that they're extremely popular figures since ancient times, which attracts tourists to their sites (sometimes even high profile visitors like Julius Caesar and Caracalla), as with any famous sites it also attracts miscreants, as long as the state protected the tomb, the place was a site of worship, and when the state disallows the worship of mortals, the tomb falls into disarray, looters take what they can get, even the bodies (I'd like to think people grind up the bones and ate them to get divine powers). While we do have records of Alexander's tomb known since antiquity, we're not sure what happened to it after the fall of Rome. However the case is much worse for Cleopatra, do you really think Octavian would've allowed Cleopatra to be venerated in a tomb? or even allow her body to get a proper burial? why couldn't she have been cremated? the only account comes from Suetonius and Plutarch long after the death of Augustus in regards to her death, even if she was buried wouldn't we have at least some records given the Severan family traces it's lineage back to Cleopatra?

Edited November 11, 2022 by JayAg47

[jdmKY]

Here’s Cleopatra and Antony from 32 BC

[shanxi]

According to Suetonius and Plutarch, Cleopatra was buried together with Mark Antony and her mausoleum was completed as planned. These are of course the only reports but there is also no report claiming somthing else.  Even if the tomb was looted, a discovery would be very interesting. The gold and everything else valuable might be gone, but paintings or statues were probably uninteresting for ancient tomb robbers. Let's hope.

My Cleo is very worn. I had to shoot the photo in very harsh light to see anything at all. As usual much better in hand.

Cleopatra VII
AE 80 drachm
Obv.: Diademed Bust right
Rev.: KΛEOΠATPAΣ BAΣIΛIΣΣIΣ Eagle standing left on thrunderbolt, double cornucopia left, Π=value=80.
Ae, 18.03g, 26.6mm
Ref.: Svoronos: 1871

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by shanxi

[robinjojo]

That's a very interesting and potentially significant discovery.  I hope that there will be a documentary made in the near future, possibly on PBS's Secrets of the Dead.  They aired an earlier episode a few years back about the Spanish archeologist who was exploring an area west of Alexandria in her search for Cleopatra III's tomb.

This is my highest grade AE 80 drachmae of Cleopatra III, typically rough, worn and unevenly struck, but with pretty clear central details, especially on the obverse.

Sear 1871

17.4 grams