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The ruins of the temple at Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria, where Kathleen Martínez has searched for Cleopatra's tomb
The ruins of the temple at Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria, where Kathleen Martínez has searched for Cleopatra's tomb. Photo: Einsamer Schütze · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Ancient worlds · Alexandria, Egypt · 30 BCE – today

The Lost Tomb of Cleopatra

Unresolved30 BCE – 2025 CEAlexandria and Taposiris Magna, Egypt

Ancient writers say Cleopatra was buried beside Mark Antony in a splendid tomb near a temple of Isis. No one knows where it is.

Cleopatra VII, the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt, died in 30 BCE after the defeat of her forces and those of Mark Antony by Octavian. According to the Greek writer Plutarch, she had built a lofty tomb near a temple of Isis and stored the royal treasures there; after her death, Octavian ordered that she be buried with Antony 'in splendid and regal fashion'. Most historians have assumed the tomb lay in Alexandria, much of whose ancient royal quarter is now underwater or beneath the modern city.

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The Library of AlexandriaSame region · The Library of Alexandria stood in the same city.The Lost Colony of RoanokeComparable case · Famous places described in records but never found.

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How to read the labels

EstablishedSupported by strong, converging evidence.
ContestedEvidence exists but qualified scholars disagree.
UnresolvedThe question is open; evidence does not settle it.
LegendComes from myth, literature or tradition, not physical evidence.
SpeculativeA hypothesis with little direct evidence so far.

Hero image: The ruins of the temple at Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria, where Kathleen Martínez has searched for Cleopatra's tomb. Photo: Einsamer Schütze · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons. Evidence labels describe the written claims, not the image. Version 1 · updated 2026-10-22.