Egyptians hope to find Cleopatra's tomb

I have been excited after reading the news recently that the Great Queen Cleopatra's burial site might finally be found. For those who are fans of the History Channel's "Digging For The Truth" series, you would have recalled watching an episode about "Cleopatra: The Last Pharaoh" in Season 2, episode 6 of the series where host Josh Bernstein joins Dr Zahi Hawass in the hunt for mummies from the time of Cleopatra's reign as they try to uncover more information on one of the very last Pharaohs.

I love watching that episode and how Josh dive underwater to search for Cleopatra's lost city which was rumored to be buried underwater. I'm looking forward to reading more news about the dig and how i wish i could also be part of the team who will make a great impact in history with their discoveries!

Here is an extract of the exciting news i found online from Times Online, 16 April 2009 edition (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6099961.ece) for those who are interested in the discoveries like me :>

A view of the temple of Taposiris Magna. (Photo: Supreme Council of Antiquities)

"Zahi Hawass, director of Egypt’s Superior Council for Antiquities, said yesterday that there was evidence to suggest that Cleopatra and Mark Antony were buried together in the complex tunnel system underlying the Tabusiris Magna temple, 17 miles from the city of Alexandria.

The dig, which begins next week, could reveal answers to the many myths surrounding the pair — including speculation about the Queen’s reputed beauty and the couple’s suicide. Teams from Egypt and the Dominican Republic will begin excavating three sites along the tunnels in the hope that one of the deep shafts will lead to a burial chamber. The sites were identified by a radar scan.

Kathleen Martínez, an Egyptologist from the Dominican Republic who is working on the dig, said that the writing of Roman chroniclers indicated that the two were buried together. The discovery that ten mummies of nobles were buried at the site had strengthened evidence that Antony and Cleopatra could be close, she said.

Last year archaeologists at the temple unearthed a bronze statue of the goddess Aphrodite, the alabaster head of a Queen Cleopatra statue and a mask believed to belong to Mark Antony. The expedition also found 22 coins bearing Cleopatra’s image, which Dr Hawass said showed an attractive face — debunking recent speculation on the queen’s renowned beauty. “The finds from Tabusiris reflect a charm. . . and indicate that Cleopatra was in no way unattractive,” Dr Hawass said in a statement."

(Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6099961.ece)

(Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090419/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_cleopatra_s_tomb)

(Source: http://www.drhawass.com/blog/press-release-news-temple-taposiris-magna)