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00:02Cleopatra, a legendary queen whose fascinating life is shrouded in mystery.
00:07Through alliances and intrigue, she acceded to the throne of Egypt at a very young age
00:12and reigned for nearly 20 years.
00:15But there is scant evidence of her life story, and there are still many mysteries to unravel.
00:21We're retracing the life of a queen who, despite being the most famous in history, remains an enigma.
00:28We will follow the latest archaeological research,
00:31which for decades has attempted to find one of the most precious elements of Cleopatra's reign, her tomb.
00:38Cleopatra might have chosen the possibus magna as her final resting place.
00:44Cleopatra's death changed the face of Egypt and the world
00:47by marking the end of 3,000 years of pharaonic rule.
00:52More myths surround Cleopatra than any other woman in history.
00:56Between myth and reality, legend and history,
01:00what was Cleopatra's reign really like, whether it's underwater or in the desert?
01:05Locating her tomb will provide the key to unlocking the remaining secrets of her incredible life.
01:11Each passing decade has brought archaeologists closer to the goal,
01:16and therefore to the truth.
01:17To find Cleopatra's tomb, not only would it be a great discovery that would probably go down in history as
01:24one of the most amazing finds,
01:26but it would answer so many questions.
01:29She's a magical queen, because Cleopatra made unique things.
01:36Often described as scandalous or domineering, Cleopatra was first and foremost a brilliant politician.
01:43Her strategy involved eliminating, one by one, all those who stood in her way.
01:50So why did she die so young?
01:54Following the work of the best international archaeologists and scientists,
01:59we will piece together the life story of one of the world's most powerful women
02:03and unravel the secrets of the legendary Cleopatra.
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02:50History's most famous queen, Cleopatra's tumultuous life has fascinated us for millennia,
02:57and the hunt is on for her final resting place.
03:00A team of archaeologists believes they have discovered the lost tomb of the last queen
03:05of Egypt, in the north of the country.
03:09Oh, there's a hole! Wow!
03:15Wow!
03:16I can see skulls, and I can see many skulls, actually, in a good condition.
03:23Yet again, it proves to be a false lead.
03:26It's not Cleopatra, but is nevertheless a remarkable find.
03:31These bones are over 2,000 years old, and are therefore contemporaneous of the last queen
03:36of Egypt.
03:37They will provide valuable information about the graves of the time, including Cleopatra's,
03:42of which there is no description.
03:46We are about to make a big discovery here.
03:52Like so many before them, these archaeologists are tireless in their search, because Cleopatra's
03:58tomb is a holy grail, just like the myth created around this queen, who forced the hand of destiny
04:05to save her country.
04:07Let's rewind 21 centuries to the beginning of her incredible life story.
04:17Cleopatra was born in 69 BCE, in Alexandria, into the turbulent Ptolemaic dynasty.
04:26Cleopatra herself was born in Egypt, into a family that had lived and reigned over Egypt for
04:34generations, for centuries.
04:37And yet, that family had its origins elsewhere.
04:42Cleopatra's ancestors came from Macedonia, a region on the other side of the Mediterranean.
04:51And so she was not fully Egyptian.
04:54The mystery begins with her birth.
04:58We know that she was Macedonian Greek through her father, Ptolemy XII, who descended from Ptolemy
05:05I.
05:06But there are nevertheless unknowns, important gaps in Cleopatra's genealogy, starting with
05:12her mother.
05:13There is no mention whatsoever of Cleopatra's mother in the queen's life story.
05:20It has been suggested that her mother may have been Egyptian.
05:23It is certainly possible.
05:25After all, the identity of her mother is unknown.
05:30In Cleopatra's day, Egypt was not as powerful as it had been under Khufu or Tutankhamen.
05:38Egypt gradually lost its status as an independent kingdom and became subject to Rome.
05:45Educated by her father, Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra understood from an early age that Egypt was
05:52nothing without Rome.
05:54She soaked up the secrets of power and its intricacies while fostering her double culture.
06:00Cleopatra was adept at playing the field.
06:04She fully embraced her Egyptian and Greek heritage.
06:10It is obvious that she benefited from this outstanding cultural, even scientific environment.
06:21She was trained to become a political warrior.
06:27This powerful woman still has many secrets to reveal.
06:32Aspects of a tumultuous life she took to the grave.
06:39To understand her story, we will follow renowned archaeologist Zai Yawas in his search for the
06:45queen.
06:46Today, he has come to Tapasiris Magna to meet with Kathleen Martinez.
06:53The explorer has been excavating this site for 15 years.
06:56She is obsessed with finding Cleopatra's lost tomb and believes the queen is here, a theory
07:02at odds with the predominant view, which intrigues Zai Yawas.
07:06This lady, I really admire her because she dedicated her life to this.
07:13The archaeologist knows better than most the energy such a quest requires.
07:18I spent all my life revealing the secrets of the sand.
07:24Zai Yawas has scoured the Egyptian desert for nearly 50 years.
07:28more than anything, he hopes to find Cleopatra's lost tomb and unlock the mystery surrounding
07:34the last queen of Egypt.
07:36If you ask any women or any men in France or America or Japan, Cleopatra captures the hearts
07:45of people everywhere.
07:46If you look at anyone and say the word Cleopatra, it has magic.
07:54Today is an important day for the archaeologist.
07:58Kathleen Martinez has made many discoveries, but she has never revealed her findings to the
08:04general public.
08:07Good morning.
08:08Dr. Zai.
08:10Hello, Cathy.
08:11How are you?
08:11I'm so happy to have you here.
08:14You know what's happening?
08:15I haven't seen it for a long time.
08:17Anything has happened.
08:19Now, the question is, since we met the first time, you convinced me that Cleopatra was buried
08:29here.
08:30You told me, in 15 days, I will give you the key of the opening of the tomb.
08:37Now it's 15 years.
08:41Then what do you think now?
08:43The most important thing is that the temple is dedicated to goddess Isis.
08:49Kathleen Martinez has a hunch.
08:51She believes Isis's trail will lead her to Cleopatra, because the queen was associated
08:57with Isis.
09:01Cleopatra followed Egyptian tradition in identifying herself with Isis.
09:07The pharaohs always had close ties to the divine world, and by associating herself with
09:13Isis, she was no longer simply queen, but queen and goddess of Egypt.
09:21Isis was one of the most popular deities of the Egyptian pantheon, a way for the queen
09:28to assert her authority over the whole country.
09:33She represents female power, motherhood, as well as dynastic legitimacy.
09:40In fact, Isis was considered the patron goddess of royalty.
09:45Her name Iset in Egyptian means throne.
09:51Kathleen Martinez and her teams have searched every inch of the temple in an attempt to
09:56find traces of the goddess and get closer to Cleopatra.
10:03This is a temple that Voros excavated.
10:06This?
10:07This is the main chapel.
10:09Imagine 2,000 years ago, all these constructions out of marble, beautiful, limestone, the causeway
10:18going all the way to the sea.
10:24In Cleopatra's day, the religious complex of Tapasiris Magna was an architectural marvel,
10:31and the largest temple dedicated to Isis in northern Egypt.
10:38It's possible Cleopatra visited this sanctuary on several occasions.
10:46But before embodying Isis, Cleopatra first had to become queen.
10:53She was not destined to rule alone, and would have to fight for control of the throne.
11:01Cleopatra is born into a fairly sort of chaotic family at a quite chaotic time.
11:07Cleopatra wanted absolute power to achieve this.
11:12She had to fight and even kill members of her own family, the Ptolemaic dynasty.
11:17You look at the family tree of the Ptolemies, there were constantly other members of the family
11:23who could at any point have become a rival.
11:29They were all very ambitious in her family, and family ties did not count for much.
11:35They wanted power at all costs.
11:39Cleopatra was the eldest of five children.
11:42She came to the throne in 51 BCE at the age of 18.
11:51But tradition dictated that a woman could not rule alone.
11:58She had to marry her little brother Ptolemy the 13th, who was 12 or 13.
12:03It was part of the tradition among the Ptolemies.
12:07It was due to the Ptolemy's divine ideology.
12:10They were supposed to keep their divine capital within the family, within the dynasty.
12:16Hence the marriages between brothers and sisters.
12:20This divine union spelled the start of a fratricidal war.
12:25The rivalry developed between them very quickly.
12:28The Egyptian people straight away have had a kind of a choice, if you like.
12:33You know, we can choose to be loyal to Cleopatra, or we can choose this other person.
12:39Cleopatra found the idea of ruling Egypt with her inexperienced little brother totally unacceptable.
12:46Ptolemy the 13th most probably did not have the intellectual capacity to govern.
12:52As well as this, he was somewhat dominated by his big sister.
12:56Cleopatra wanted power for herself.
12:58She wanted to reign alone, and to sideline her brother, Alicard.
13:05Each had to put up with the other, but in reality, it was no holds barred.
13:10And Cleopatra had something in mind.
13:16Until very recently, we had no evidence of the early years of her reign.
13:19And then archaeologists discovered a papyrus, which they named the Cleopatra papyrus, because it is signed by her.
13:32Carefully preserved in Berlin's Neues Museum, this remarkable document reveals Cleopatra's true face.
13:43A treasure for papyrologist Marius Gerhardt.
13:49Here we can clearly read the names of those who issued this decree.
13:53Queen Cleopatra and Pharaoh Ptolemy the 13th.
13:56Basilius, Kai, Basilissa.
14:01Ptolemy the 13th, a brother she sidelined at the slightest opportunity.
14:09Cleopatra very quickly tried to exert absolute power.
14:15But in accordance with her father's will, she had to come to an understanding with the counselors of her brother,
14:22who was still a minor, and governed with him.
14:25This alliance was briefly broken a year later.
14:30The war between Cleopatra and her brother, Ptolemy the 13th, plunged the country into a period of great instability.
14:37There was one pharaoh too many in Egypt.
14:42Cleopatra fled at that point.
14:44She hurriedly left Alexandria and took refuge on the kingdom's eastern border,
14:49because she knew her life was in danger, accused as she was of conspiracy, of attempting to assassinate her brother.
14:57If she had been captured, she would have been killed.
15:03Cleopatra secretly left Egypt to escape her brother's assassination attempts.
15:09She had to leave Egypt.
15:12She went to Kohle, Syria.
15:14She made her way to the Syrian coast, probably to Ashkelon, where she rebuilt her army.
15:21The queen was well aware of her brother's military might.
15:25She needed protection if she was to return to her own country, in particular to Alexandria, the capital.
15:34But what she wanted above all was to remove her brother from power.
15:38And for that, the only solution was to kill him.
15:43Cleopatra decided to return with a strong army in order to defeat her brother militarily.
15:49She had many supporters, but young Ptolemy the 13th was surrounded by influential ministers and advisors.
15:56Cleopatra's fate appeared to be sealed at this point.
15:59But the queen soon devised a strategy.
16:02She needed to stay alive at all costs in order to regain the throne and change the course of her
16:07destiny.
16:132,000 years on, Kathleen Martinez remains convinced that Cleopatra's lost tomb is here,
16:20at Taposiris Magna, 50 kilometers west of Alexandria.
16:26In Taposiris Magna, we believe now there was two temples.
16:31One temple for Osiris, one temple that's under the water now for Isis.
16:37All these temples were connected with tunnels.
16:43Kathleen Martinez wants to explore the maze of tunnels beneath the temple.
16:48She hopes to find clues that will lead her to Cleopatra's tomb.
16:54Everything is ready? You saw several snakes?
16:56Yes, there were several snakes there.
17:02Jesus Christ.
17:03The archaeologist is anxious, but nonetheless determined to follow this trail.
17:09These tunnels intrigue her.
17:15She believes they could lead her to Cleopatra's tomb.
17:21She is on the lookout for the slightest clue.
17:27This kind of tunnels, the effort, the human effort, why they will go into this impressive architectural construction.
17:392,000 years ago, as an engineer construction, it was a huge project.
17:45Imagine what it costs to build this. How many years they needed.
17:52And these tunnels are bigger even than the tunnels at the pyramids of Giza.
17:58It's a huge human effort.
18:02No one yet knows the extent of these underground passages.
18:07For 2,000 years, sand has seeped in and blocked the tunnels.
18:12But an excavation unearths a number of clues.
18:16They help the archaeologists understand the purpose of these never-ending corridors.
18:23You can see the plaster that cover here, the remains of the plaster.
18:32It shows me that they used this for water, but until here.
18:39This tunnel, as we study today, it carried 200 liters of water per second, which means it could feed between
18:518,000 to 10,000 people.
18:57It took several years excavating to reveal part of this incredible structure.
19:04A main tunnel, several kilometers in length, connects the temple to the sea below, where a town once stood.
19:14Thanks to a slight incline, groundwater rising to the surface could be distributed to the town's residents.
19:21But Kathleen Martinez believes these tunnels had another use.
19:26The tunnels, in my opinion, had several use.
19:31And one of them was to move beneath the temple without being seen.
19:37That's why we're searching.
19:40I believe these tunnels and the complex of tunnels here is why Kilopatra might have chose Taposuris Magna as her
19:49final resting place.
19:51Even if she doesn't find the tomb, Kathleen Martinez knows that each of her finds will bring her closer to
19:58the queen.
19:59She believes there has to be some evidence of Cleopatra's turbulent life.
20:10Back to 49 BCE.
20:14Cleopatra left Egypt to escape a certain death.
20:17She was only 20 years old.
20:19But already, the conflict with her brother meant she was forced to flee the country.
20:24Ptolemy XIII ruled alone from Alexandria.
20:28In that time, her brother was devil.
20:31And his brother was really against her.
20:34And his brother dismissed her out of the throne.
20:37But she was very smart.
20:41But Cleopatra had not abandoned Egypt.
20:44She was simply biding her time.
20:47We see a lot of strategy, lots of comings and goings,
20:51and essentially a lot of bitterness between these siblings.
20:58Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII both wanted to take advantage of the tensions in the Mediterranean basin.
21:05But the young pharaoh committed a gross miscalculation.
21:09Keen to obtain the favor of Caesar, the most powerful man in Rome,
21:14he had Pompey, Caesar's greatest enemy, decapitated.
21:19His head was presented to Caesar.
21:25Who couldn't help but turn away in horror on seeing it.
21:29And he didn't welcome the news exactly as the king of Egypt would have liked.
21:40This questionable gift soon backfired on Ptolemy.
21:47Julius Caesar flew into a terrible rage.
21:51How dare this little Egyptian dwarf lay a hand on a Roman,
21:55kill a superior, a Roman, and deprive him, Caesar, of his victory?
22:01Because that was Julius Caesar's objection.
22:04He wanted victory over Pompey.
22:06He did not want Pompey's head handed to him on a plate.
22:09And the incident sparked a fierce hatred in Julius Caesar toward the young Ptolemy XIII.
22:17Cleopatra exploited her brother's miscalculation
22:20and manipulated the situation to her own advantage.
22:23In an attempt to regain the throne,
22:26she made the most of Caesar's animosity towards Ptolemy XIII.
22:31She was still in exile and waiting for the right moment to wrest back control.
22:36She hoped to become one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs,
22:40and so leave her mark on history.
22:50The research continues at this secret location.
22:57Kathleen Martinez is analyzing the latest finds she believes are connected to Cleopatra.
23:04These busts of the goddess Isis are among her most remarkable discoveries.
23:11Zaiyawas wants to see these freshly unearthed sculptures with his own eyes.
23:19Dr. Martinez.
23:20Dr. Zaiy.
23:21Kathleen, do you have a good surprise for me?
23:23Yes.
23:24What do you have?
23:25Oh, I like that.
23:29This is beautiful as camp.
23:30It is.
23:32The remains of gold.
23:34Okay.
23:35And this is a statue of Isis?
23:37Yes.
23:37We have several.
23:39Many.
23:40Many.
23:40And colorful.
23:41Yes.
23:44Kathleen Martinez has discovered hundreds of ancient artifacts in the temple of Taposiris Magna.
23:51The explorers fascinated by one bust in particular.
23:56White marble.
23:57Is that kind of alive?
23:58Yes.
23:59You can see all the features of the face.
24:02You can see the hole for the earrings.
24:06Beautiful, beautiful mouth and the nose.
24:09And this is Cleopatra, do you think?
24:11Could be.
24:13Could be.
24:14But why not to be Isis?
24:16It could be Cleopatra dressed as Isis.
24:21But why would Cleopatra want to be the living embodiment of Isis?
24:26In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs were living gods and divine blood flowed in their veins.
24:33Queens were no exception.
24:35Cleopatra consequently drew inspiration from the great names of ancient Egypt, such as Hatshepsut.
24:43What she needed to do really was to emulate the pharaohs that had come before her.
24:50So she needed to be extremely strategic in how she did this.
24:54Among the 700 deities of the ancient Egyptian pantheon, there was one perfect mythical couple, Osiris and Isis.
25:04For Cleopatra, it was an obvious choice.
25:08The most important cult for queen was Isis.
25:12And that's why Cleopatra connected her life with this goddess.
25:19It was quite natural for someone like Cleopatra to identify herself with Isis.
25:24Indeed, she called herself the incarnation of Isis.
25:27And this is because she wanted to reflect the very values that Isis herself represented.
25:35The cult of Isis existed in Egyptian society for thousands of years, even before the invention of writing.
25:43To win over the population, Cleopatra knew she needed the support of the faithful.
25:50The majority of the population in Egypt were Egyptians with their very long-standing traditional beliefs in the Egyptian gods,
25:58worshipping at Egyptian temples.
26:01Styling herself as Isis, Cleopatra didn't hesitate to have her image carved on temple walls, in the manner of a
26:09billboard ad, with all of the goddess's finery.
26:16The goddess traditionally wears a headdress comprising the sun disk of Ra, Isis's father, between the long horns of the
26:25cow Hathor, the mother goddess.
26:28Behind this are two vertical plumes, symbol of Amun of Thebes, the protector god of Egyptian royalty.
26:38Cleopatra didn't only take on Isis's identity, she also took on a name to be closer to her people.
26:47Cleopatra was Cleopatra, but she had this other name, which is Philopator, which in Greek means lover of your country.
26:55She took advantage of her name that showed the Egyptian people that they were her priority.
27:01So that's a very powerful message to send over to your people.
27:06Little by little, Cleopatra accentuated her Egyptian traits to seem even more legitimate in the eyes of her people.
27:14She was even buried according to custom.
27:26Cleopatra died in August, 30 BCE, at the age of 39.
27:34Did she already know how she wanted to live in the afterlife?
27:40For the Egyptians, the most important part of life was after death.
27:44You continued to live in the afterlife, but you had to take everything you needed with you.
27:48And the first thing you needed was your body.
27:53Cleopatra's mummy has yet to be discovered.
27:56Locating it will not be an easy task.
27:59To date, not a single Ptolemaic pharaoh's tomb has been found.
28:03The 300 year dynasty left no clues.
28:07We have to head to Turin, Italy.
28:10It is home to a tomb dating from Cleopatra's time.
28:15Susanne Topfer believes that Cleopatra's mummy may well resemble this mummy of a perfectly preserved child.
28:23He is a very good example how the elite embalmed their deceased.
28:29The exterior decoration is extremely fine.
28:33This is the technique the Egyptians used 2,000 years ago.
28:37He received an outer bandage, which is very typical for the Ptolemaic, but also Roman period, which is some kind
28:44of a pattern like a quarter pattern.
28:49The mummification process began four days after death.
28:54Each step had to be scrupulously respected to ensure the corpse was perfectly preserved.
29:02They took out the brain because this was needed in order to conserve the mummy long term.
29:09And that they took out also the origins.
29:13The body was then dried.
29:15All the moisture had to be removed because moisture favors the growth of bacteria and mold.
29:21So the deceased's body was placed in natron, a natural salt, and left to dry for 70 days.
29:32This funerary practice endured for millennia.
29:36Apart from the heart, all internal organs were removed.
29:40Then the corpse was washed.
29:43Once dry, the remains were coated in a plant-based embalming oil and wrapped in linen bandages.
29:50The mummy was actually important as a kind of loading station for all the other parts of a human being.
29:59So this is why it was important to have the body conserved for eternity.
30:06Hellenistic Egypt maintained the ancient traditions and still practiced mummification.
30:13Cleopatra may have been the last queen to be buried according to these age-old methods.
30:24The year is 48 BCE.
30:30Cleopatra's brother, Ptolemy XIII, still rules Egypt but is out of favor with Rome.
30:39While Cleopatra remains in exile 600 kilometers from Alexandria,
30:44she knows her salvation lies with Julius Caesar.
30:50In these times of chaos and famine, it is imperative Julius Caesar resolve the power struggle in Egypt.
30:59He summons Dolomy XIII.
31:02He summons Cleopatra too.
31:04And it's much harder for her, obviously,
31:07because she could be intercepted at any time by her brother's men
31:11and killed on her return to Alexandria.
31:16But she is desperate to meet Caesar.
31:20To do this, she uses a brilliant ploy.
31:26Cleopatra clearly saw an opportunity to strike an alliance with Julius Caesar.
31:31She sees the way the tide is turning.
31:34She clearly makes a calculated bet that Caesar is going to end up victorious.
31:40And so she needs his support against her brother.
31:43She decides to go for broke.
31:47She has to get into the palace, but it is surrounded by her brother's troops.
31:52So she needs a ruse.
31:54She smuggles herself into Alexandria.
31:58She returns incognito in a boat.
32:03Cleopatra had to reach the royal quarters of Alexandria without being seen by her brother,
32:09because he would have killed her.
32:11So she traveled under the cover of night and managed to get into Caesar's tent.
32:16She had a gift delivered to Julius Caesar.
32:21A carpet in which she was rolled up.
32:27Julius Caesar, who was already 50 or so,
32:30and no longer a novice in the art of war or the art of seduction,
32:34saw this ravishing 18-year-old girl roll out of the carpet.
32:39The ancient texts obviously mention her charm, her beauty,
32:43but they also mention her voice, a very melodious voice,
32:46a voice she varied with different tones,
32:49and that he said she seduced Caesar with the melody of her voice.
32:55The Roman leader couldn't fail to be impressed by the ingenious queen's daring.
33:01He was immediately very taken with her.
33:04Her voice, her looks, but also her intelligence, it seems, you know, swayed him in that.
33:13Cleopatra's strategy was to form an intimate bond with the man who held the imperial,
33:19the supreme power in ancient Rome.
33:30Cleopatra now had Rome's support to govern.
33:33Her strategy had paid off.
33:38Julius Caesar went to see Ptolemy XIII and basically said to him,
33:42listen, son, you're nice enough, but your father wanted Cleopatra to be queen of Egypt.
33:46He did not want you to rule alone.
33:48Obviously, Ptolemy XIII refused to be pushed around.
33:51And so Julius Caesar said, very well, in that case I declare war.
33:57Julius Caesar was the most powerful man in the world.
33:59Although he was confident, he was in a hostile city.
34:03And he was swiftly surrounded by Ptolemy XIII's men.
34:09Julius Caesar only had 3,200 men.
34:14The Egyptian army numbered some 22,000 men.
34:17It wasn't huge, but was obviously much more than Julius Caesar's 3,200 strong Roman army.
34:24So Julius Caesar barricaded himself with Cleopatra in the royal palace.
34:29In January, 47 BCE, reinforcements arrived and they counterattacked.
34:35The Roman bloc and the Alexandrian bloc clashed repeatedly until the decisive battle of the Nile.
34:42Ptolemy XIII fled and attempted to board a ship, but failed to reach it.
34:50It's said Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile.
34:59The death of Cleopatra's brother ushered in a new era for Egypt.
35:03A turning point in the history of the ancient world,
35:06thanks to which Cleopatra became the most famous woman of all time.
35:12Of the hundreds of thousands of artifacts unearthed since the 18th century,
35:17none is connected to Cleopatra's life.
35:19For the world's archaeologists, it's a great mystery.
35:22We don't actually know where Cleopatra's tomb is, we don't know where her body is,
35:27and in fact, we don't know where the body of any Ptolemaic pharaoh is.
35:34Archaeologists have conflicting theories.
35:36Each has their own idea about the location of the queen's final resting place.
35:41The quest to locate the tomb of Cleopatra could be described as something of a treasure hunt.
35:50A quest is becoming ever more intense.
35:56Maybe the archaeologists need to follow the clues the queen left to find her tomb.
36:02Finding Cleopatra's tomb would obviously be extremely fascinating,
36:07because it is the tomb of the most fascinating queen in history.
36:12Such a discovery would not only give us a valuable insight into a chapter of Egyptian history,
36:18but would also reveal the many treasures the legendary queen Cleopatra possessed.
36:25Her tomb could be a tomb full of treasures more than any king or queen of Egypt.
36:36Archaeologists follow the slightest clue left by the queen.
36:40And these clues are sometimes to be found a long way from Alexandria.
36:46We head 800 kilometers to the town of Kapdos, now Kift,
36:50which is home to a small but remarkable monument.
36:54An oracular chapel where the town's inhabitants would come to consult with the gods.
37:03This chapel might not look like anything special,
37:07but its walls bear one of the only representations of Cleopatra in Egypt.
37:16A team of engineers has come here from Cairo.
37:22The idea is to make a digital copy of the monument before it deteriorates further.
37:29To do this, the engineers use state-of-the-art equipment.
37:33This scanner occurs up to 50 microns.
37:38This scanner scans almost up to 8 frames per second.
37:45Tens of thousands of photos must be taken of the oracular chapel's surfaces.
37:51It's a painstaking task.
37:54To scan half meter per half meter, we may take half hour.
37:58This is very slow, but very high accuracy.
38:03The engineers make sure every inch of the site is scanned.
38:07Little by little, the model takes shape.
38:10In the laptop, we have the Arctic Studio.
38:13It's the software that combines all data we get from the scanner
38:17and combines all frames to get a 3D mesh file.
38:24Only a few millimetres thick, each hieroglyph is modelled in order to be digitally stored.
38:35The monument joins the list of clues about the Queen's life.
38:40Egyptologist Jean-Guillaume Ouellette Pelletier will talk us through them.
38:45All the remains we find enable us to retrace the life of a queen who, despite being the most famous
38:51in history, remains an enigma.
38:55The texts reveal a surprising trait of character.
39:01This oracular chapel is really very special because we have Cleopatra here, and on the other side, her father, Ptolemy
39:07XII.
39:09Cleopatra inscribed on these walls the story she wanted to leave the world.
39:15She was her father's worthy successor.
39:19But it appears as if her siblings never existed.
39:24On this monument, the queen makes no mention of them, and in doing so presents herself as her father's direct
39:30successor.
39:33In fact, she rewrote history to suit her own narrative.
39:38With these remains, Cleopatra proves to us that she was a master in the arts of communication and manipulation.
39:46Her every act was carefully considered, like her journey through Egypt with her new ally and lover.
39:56Apparently, Julius Caesar and Cleopatra traveled through Upper Egypt and came to Coptos.
40:02And this is how she came to build different monuments, including this chapel.
40:11The couple treated themselves to a luxury cruise along the Nile.
40:16She used to take him on a trip down the Nile to show him the power of Egypt.
40:23For several weeks, they lived on a floating palace.
40:27She sailed aboard a boat called the Thalamegos, which was extremely large and lavishly appointed.
40:38The couple sailed past the treasures of ancient Egypt.
40:42Before them, the monuments erected to the glory of the pharaohs, whose imposing presence and wealth are still a source
40:50of fascination today.
40:52The reason that Caesar and Cleopatra made this descent up the Nile is that they wanted to sort of showcase
40:59their power,
41:00showcase the fact that they had joined forces, because the visual expression of power was extremely important.
41:08Caesar and Cleopatra toured the countryside and temples to show the people their new alliance.
41:18It's easy to sort of fall into the idea that this would have been a kind of nice holiday for
41:22two people who had just entered into a romantic relationship,
41:26which it might well have been.
41:29But there was very much a kind of political dimension to it for both of them.
41:33It was a very important step in an alliance between Rome and Egypt.
41:39Julius Caesar was not only interested in Cleopatra, but also in Egypt's privileged position.
41:46The Roman leader hoped to use the country's riches to feed his 56 million people.
41:53It's important to understand that in those days, Egypt's climate was different to what it is today.
41:58It was a little bit more humid and it was ideal for farming.
42:02Egypt was the bread basket of a large part of what later became the Roman Empire.
42:05At the time, it was the world's largest producer of cereals.
42:11Caesar intended to take advantage of his new privileged position.
42:15His plan was to make the most of Egypt's wealth.
42:20Despite the fact that Rome is really the great power in the Mediterranean region by Cleopatra's time,
42:25Egypt was still a very significant player.
42:29It controlled a very large population, a large area.
42:36But Egypt had many desirable treasures too.
42:42For example, granite, various types of stone, but also gems, and importantly, gold.
42:51It was very important for the Roman Empire to be supplied with the wealth of Egypt.
43:00Egypt also benefited from the alliance.
43:04Its security was now insured.
43:10Cleopatra needed an army, but that army, led by the most powerful men on Earth at that time,
43:16Julius Caesar, needed Cleopatra's money.
43:18Cleopatra was the richest woman on Earth, and Egypt was the richest country.
43:23So they both need each other.
43:26The pact seemed to be sealed, but Cleopatra knew better than most just how fragile alliances could be,
43:33that everything could change in a heartbeat.
43:36She is born into power, she is born into the role of ruling Egypt.
43:43That was her job, and her job involved surviving.
43:56A great strategist, she was careful to cultivate her relationship with the Romans.
44:01The so-called Cleopatra papyrus is evidence of this.
44:07In this document, an influential Roman was granted a sizeable tax exemption.
44:16He could import 5,000 large amphorae of wine every year, without paying any tax whatsoever.
44:24That's roughly the equivalent of a shipload.
44:32The tax exemptions granted to Romans enabled the Queen to ensure the country's stability and retain power.
44:43The so-called Cleopatra papyrus shows us, in a way, how the Queen built up a network of influential Romans
44:50who then did favours for the Queen.
44:55With these privileged relationships, Cleopatra satisfied the Mediterranean's greatest power.
45:03In a sense, Rome was Egypt's protective power,
45:07and anyone who was on good terms with Rome could successfully govern.
45:14Cleopatra maintained close ties with Rome, in order to remain on the throne of Egypt.
45:26Because of Cleopatra's prestige and lavish lifestyle, archaeologists believe her tomb is monumental.
45:35This is why Kathleen Martinez is more convinced than ever that they should look in the vicinity of the imposing
45:41temple of Taposiris Magna.
45:44Let me show you this tomb. It's really important because it's from the Ptolemaic period.
45:50We believe that Cleopatra is around here. It's a huge complex.
45:55The excavation season is drawing to a close, but Kathleen Martinez and Zayawas could strike lucky this morning.
46:03But I see this is a seat.
46:06Yes.
46:07This is something interesting.
46:09And it looks like this mortar is closed since 2,000 years ago.
46:16Oh.
46:16What do you think was behind here?
46:18I don't know.
46:19Okay, let's see.
46:25Oh, there's a hole!
46:27Wow!
46:28Ah!
46:35Wow!
46:36I can see skulls and I can see many skulls actually in a good condition.
46:45You had a big discovery today.
46:47Okay.
46:50Clearly this skull is not Cleopatra's.
46:54This was a burial that his family wanted to keep it safe and that's why they sealed this door.
47:01The mummy has not been seen since 2,000 years ago.
47:07These remains constitute a valuable source of information.
47:11They will provide insight into funerary practices in Cleopatra's day.
47:16We didn't expect it here in this area to find anything which is now a really good discovery,
47:23but now we have to excavate it and see what information they bring us.
47:32The bones start to reveal their secrets.
47:36So we can have four adults and one baby.
47:39And one baby, yes.
47:40Yes, it's great.
47:41Good.
47:42Usually in babies we can find amulets.
47:44Yes, and also we can find inside them the golden tongue.
47:51In February 2021, Kathleen Martinez found some gold foil inside a mummy's mouth.
47:58We have found in some mummies here at Taposiris Magna that they have a tongue made out of gold.
48:05And this is for speaking the afterlife.
48:08The tongs are 20 carats gold and it is shining like it was put yesterday.
48:17Kathleen Martinez has already discovered 21 tombs in the necropolis at Taposiris Magna.
48:25All of these tombs face the temple.
48:32Some, such as this one, are large enough to house a family of 12.
48:40All these niches contain the skeletons.
48:42Yes.
48:43And they are from the time of Queen Cleopatra.
48:46Is it Ptolemy?
48:46Based on the pottery?
48:47Yes, based on the pottery.
48:50Kathleen Martinez has convinced all these people were buried here to be near the woman who represented Isis, Cleopatra.
48:57In her opinion, this is proof that the fabled queen's final resting place is here too.
49:04All the information we are collecting is linking this temple to Cleopatra.
49:10That's why this kind of tomb is important.
49:12It's from her time, people that knew her, people that were close to her.
49:17And when we excavate, we collect this information and we understand more the time of Queen Cleopatra.
49:25There are decorative elements, but they are by no means as rich as those intended for a queen.
49:32Think about how a powerful queen like Cleopatra, when she became a female pharaoh, after she got rid of her
49:43brother, she started to build her tomb.
49:46It could be marble, gold, and that would be shining of her beauty to the afterlife.
49:57The pharaohs spent much of their reign organizing their life after death and building their tombs.
50:05With such a tumultuous life, would Cleopatra have been able to build hers?
50:11The mystery fascinates the world's archaeologists, who all hope to one day discover the tomb of the last queen of
50:19Egypt.
50:22It would instantly, I think, become a candidate for the greatest archaeological discovery of all time.
50:27It would be a very, very big deal.
50:30From the beginning of her life, Cleopatra had to fight for survival and for control of the throne of Egypt.
50:37She had no qualms while killing members of her own family to achieve her ends.
50:42Her political acumen, her ploys, and her seductive power over Caesar enabled her to keep an iron grip on the
50:49country.
50:53But the last queen of Egypt had to be on her guard, because she knew better than most that this
50:59fragile balance could break it at any moment.
51:04In the next episode, we will head to Alexandria, Cleopatra's adopted city, where there may still be traces of her
51:11rule.
51:12Underwater, on land, in the city's foundations, our team of archaeologists continue their relentless search for one of ancient Egypt's
51:20greatest undiscovered treasures,
51:22Cleopatra's tomb.
51:23And we'll see you in the next episode.
51:53dein ajudar, l Podcast Lab