Archaeologist Kathleen Martínez's controversial quest for Cleopatra's tomb at Taposiris Magna faces scholarly skepticism

Dominican archaeologist Kathleen Martínez has spent two decades pursuing a theory that Cleopatra's tomb lies not in Alexandria, Egypt, but at Taposiris Magna, 45 kilometers away. Her claim, popularized online and in a National Geographic documentary, 'Cleopatra's Final Secret,' posits that the queen and Mark Antony were secretly buried in a temple dedicated to Isis and Osiris. Most Egyptologists, including Nicola Barbagli, strongly dispute this, citing historical consensus that Octavian buried the couple with honors in her mausoleum within Alexandria's royal quarter, now submerged. Martínez, a former lawyer, began her obsession in 1990 and secured excavation permits in 2004 after contacting Zahi Hawass of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. Critics note her lack of peer-reviewed publications and the theory's shaky foundations, such as Taposiris Magna being under Roman control. Excavations at the site have yielded over a thousand artifacts, including ceramics and gold jewelry, but no tomb. Barbagli acknowledges the site's importance for Ptolemaic religious history but insists it has no connection to Cleopatra. The search continues, with Martínez remaining convinced she will succeed where others have failed.