Taposiris Magna and the search for Cleopatra's tomb

[Duncan Head]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jul/12/sensational-egypt-find-offers-clues-in-hunt-for-cleopatras-tomb

Trailing a TV program later this week.

[Duncan Head]

I saw part of this program on TV last night; they'd found a couple of high-status Ptolemaic or Roman mummies, a man and a woman together. But at another nearby location, a lighthouse-like monument which the excavators think is a Ptolemaic funerary monument, there was a find including a sword and a sandal which the presenter said was "a Roman soldier's kit". The sandal looked too flimsy to be anything like a caliga, and what I think was identified as the sword just looked like a corroded bar, but I hope we'll hear of more investigation and conservation work on these finds.

[Erpingham]

A fairly classic "think of a popular title for an otherwise niche archaeological programme" affair.  Egyptian archaeology is largely fairly humdrum, tombs are often ransacked and, even if not, preservation can be poor. But stick the word "Cleopatra" or "Tutankhamun" in the title and bingo.

Not sure why the "soldier" was Roman.  That bit was very rushed. The sword was badly corroded but looked approximately gladius proportions.  No sign of a hilt, so that was probably organic.  There were other grave goods but only visible in a brief panning shot, so couldn't tell what they were.

Probably the most useful bit was the detail of modern mummy excavation technique.