Archaeologists have discovered a sunken ancient port off the coast of Egypt.

The sunken port was active during the reign of Cleopatra VII, the last Ptolemaic ruler. The discovery could bring researchers closer to solving the mystery of the legendary queen’s tomb.

Opening of the underwater port

A team of archaeologists led by National Geographic Explorer Kathleen Martinez and the marine archaeologist who discovered the Titanic wreck, Robert Ballard, have discovered large underwater structures in the Mediterranean Sea near the ruins of the Taposiris Magna temple complex. The site is located approximately 48 kilometers west of Alexandria.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities officially announced the discovery on September 18, 2025. Massive stone structures, arranged in rows and rising more than 6 meters, were discovered at the site. Archaeologists recorded polished stone floors, cemented blocks, columns, as well as numerous anchors and amphorae — ceramic vessels used for storing and transporting goods.

Ballard, a senior scientist emeritus at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, commented on the discovery: "In 50 years of working in this area, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s clearly man-made." All the discovered artifacts date to the reign of Cleopatra VII, confirming the port’s active use in the 30s BC.

Connection with the Temple of Taposiris Magna

The port was discovered thanks to a previously discovered 1.3-kilometer-long underground tunnel, which Martinez and her team uncovered in 2022. The tunnel lies approximately 12 meters underground and is believed to have connected the temple of Taposiris Magna to the seashore. Ceramic vessels and pottery from the Ptolemaic period were found during excavation of the tunnel.

The temple complex itself was built by Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus between 280 and 270 BC. The name "Taposiris Magna" translates as "great tomb of Osiris," indicating the site’s religious significance. According to the ancient Greek historian Plutarch, the temple marked the tomb of the god Osiris.

The complex served as an important cult center for the worship of Osiris and Isis. Archaeological excavations revealed a unique blend of Egyptian and Greek temple architecture: a Hellenistic sanctuary with Doric columns was located within a typical Egyptian pylon with surrounding walls. More than a hundred Doric column drums were discovered within the temple grounds.

Kathleen Martinez’s theory

Dominican archaeologist Kathleen Martinez, who also holds a law degree, devoted 20 years to searching for Cleopatra’s tomb. She applied forensic investigative techniques to the archaeological problem, exploring the character of the queen, her allies, and her adversaries. Martinez hypothesized that the strategically minded Cleopatra may have planned a secret burial through hidden tunnels.

Since 2002, Martinez’s expedition has discovered 27 tombs at Taposiris Magna, 20 of which are vaulted sarcophagi, partially buried underground. Ten mummies were found inside, two of which were covered in gold leaf. The burial style indicates a Greco-Roman period.

In December 2024, the Egyptian-Dominican mission led by Martinez reported new finds beneath the temple’s southern wall. Foundation deposits containing funerary and ritual objects from the late Ptolemaic period were discovered. Among them were a marble statue of a woman wearing a royal crown and a half-figure of a king wearing a nemes headdress.

Martinez suggested that the marble statue may depict Cleopatra VII, although some archaeologists dispute this. Also found were 337 coins, many of which bear the image of Cleopatra VII, ritual pottery, oil lamps, limestone containers, and bronze statues. Of particular interest are a bronze ring dedicated to the goddess Hathor and a scarab-shaped amulet bearing the inscription "The justice of Ra has been served."

The Historical Context of Cleopatra’s Death

Cleopatra VII was born in 69 or 70 BC in Alexandria and became the last ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. Her death on August 10 or 12, 30 BC, marked the end of the Hellenistic period and the beginning of Roman rule in Egypt.

The events leading to her death unfolded rapidly. In 31 BC, the Roman general Octavian won a decisive naval victory over the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium off the western coast of Greece. Antony and Cleopatra broke through enemy lines and fled to Alexandria.

Several months later, Octavian’s Roman army reached the city gates. Cleopatra had stored her treasures in the mausoleum and threatened to burn them if Octavian did not negotiate. However, on August 1, 30 BC, Antony’s fleet and cavalry surrendered without a fight.

According to Plutarch, Cleopatra hid in her tomb with her closest servants and sent Antony a false message claiming to have committed suicide. In despair, Antony stabbed himself in the stomach with a sword. The dying Antony was carried to Cleopatra’s tomb, where he died at the age of 53.

The Roman historian Plutarch describes how, after Antony’s death, Cleopatra was detained in the mausoleum. Octavian allowed her to embalm and bury Antony in her tomb, after which the queen was escorted to the palace. Shortly thereafter, Cleopatra committed suicide at the age of 39.

Traditionally, Cleopatra is believed to have allowed herself to be bitten by an Egyptian cobra. However, Roman authors Strabo, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio wrote that she poisoned herself with a toxic ointment or used a sharp object, such as a hairpin. Modern scholars debate the veracity of ancient snakebite reports and hypothesize that Octavian may have forced her to commit suicide through her chosen method.

Octavian ordered that Cleopatra and Mark Antony be buried together, as befits royal persons. The ancient historians Plutarch and Suetonius claim that Octavian completed the unfinished tomb and buried them with honors. Cassius Dio mentions that the upper part of the mausoleum was not fully completed at the time of Cleopatra’s death, and that both were embalmed in the same manner and buried in the same tomb.

Disputes about the burial site

The location of Cleopatra’s tomb remains one of the greatest mysteries of archaeology. Plutarch indicates that the tomb was located near the temple of Isis. He and Cassius Dio describe how Cleopatra moved between the palace and the tomb in the final days of her life. Strabo and John, Bishop of Nikiou, place her palace on the island of Antirhodos.

Many researchers believe the tomb was located in the center of Alexandria, not 48 kilometers outside the city. Critics of Martinez’s theory point out that the dying Mark Antony would have had to transport his servants to Taposiris Magna for about ten hours, which is unlikely. It is also doubtful that Octavian would have allowed Cleopatra, whom he was holding in custody, to make such a long journey.

French archaeologist Franck Goddio spent 25 years conducting a geophysical survey of the Alexandria Bay. He discovered numerous Ptolemaic structures underwater — some at depths of over 5 meters, others beneath additional layers of sediment. Goddio identified the submerged island of Antirhodos with the remains of a palace containing artifacts from the time of Cleopatra VII, and a temple of Isis. He suggests that Cleopatra’s mausoleum may have been located on the submerged island of Antirhodos between the palace and the temple of Isis.

Some archaeologists believe it is most likely that the remains of the tomb are located under the territory of the modern Cathedral of St. Mark in Alexandria.

The disaster of 365 AD

The northern coast of Egypt was devastated by a tsunami on July 21, 365 AD, triggered by an earthquake off the coast of Crete. The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus left a detailed description of the disaster, clearly distinguishing three main phases of a tsunami: the initial earthquake, the sudden recession of the sea, and the subsequent giant wave that engulfed the land.

Marcellinus wrote that after the thunder and lightning, the entire earth shook, the sea retreated, and its waters receded, revealing the seabed. People were able to walk along the bottom and collect fish by hand. Many ships ended up on dry land. Then the sea returned with a tremendous roar, crashing onto islands and vast tracts of land, destroying countless buildings in cities.

Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria, testified that the earthquake occurred on the 27th of the month of Epiphi according to the Egyptian calendar, which corresponds to July 21st. The sea retreated from the east, killing many people and causing enormous damage. In the 9th century, George the Monk wrote that in Alexandria, ships were found floating as if on dry land, and people came to witness this miracle, but then the sea returned beyond its usual limits and drowned 50,000 people.

This catastrophic event led to the flooding of the port and potential tomb. Continued seismic activity and rising sea levels in subsequent centuries led to the inundation of entire cities along the northern coast near Alexandria, including Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus.

Search Methodology

Ballard developed a comprehensive technological map covering approximately 10 kilometers of significant areas. The map contains detailed images of the port, the submerged shoreline, and other underwater structures. One notable area, designated "Salam 5," contains several tall, flat, rectangular stone structures.

Divers discovered the base of a pedestal from broken statues from the Temple of Taposiris Magna in this area. Nearby is another stone structure with three columns, dubbed the "Three Sisters." Following the map they developed, Martinez and her team began new excavations using drills and divers, focusing on the "Salam 5" area.

Martinez emphasizes that preliminary underwater explorations around the submerged portions of the Taposiris Magna temple have uncovered human skeletons and a large collection of artifacts. "The port was operational during Cleopatra’s time and earlier, at the beginning of the dynasty," she stated.

Religious significance of the place

Taposiris Magna was located on a navigable arm of Lake Mareotis. The temple and surrounding city served as a processing center for goods transported across the lake, as well as a hub for receiving products from overland trade routes before shipping them to Alexandria.

After Alexander the Great’s conquest of Egypt in 332 BC and the founding of Alexandria, the city of Taposiris Magna became the center of the religious festival of Khoyak. This festival, associated with the mysteries of Osiris, was celebrated in the last month of the Nile flood season.

The main entrance to the temple complex was through a large 41-meter-long pylon, oriented north-south and facing east. Outside the temple, a necropolis was discovered containing numerous mummies in the Greco-Roman style. Zahia Hawass, then Secretary-General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, noted that the mummies were buried facing the temple, suggesting the burial of a significant royal figure within.

Prospects for further research

The discovery of the sunken port became the subject of the National Geographic documentary "Cleopatra’s Last Secret," which premiered on September 25, 2025, on the National Geographic Channel and was released on Disney+ and Hulu the following day. The discovery adds compelling evidence to Martinez’s hypothesis that Cleopatra’s body was taken to Taposiris Magna after her death in 30 BC.

According to Martinez’s theory, the queen’s body could have been carried through an underground tunnel toward the port and then buried in an undisclosed location. After the devastating earthquakes and tsunamis of 365 AD, the port and potential tomb were submerged.

Ballard declared of the discovery: "We found it, and the tunnel pointed right to it." Martinez remains determined to continue the search both on land and underwater. "This is the beginning of a monumental undertaking," she emphasized.

"No one can convince me that Cleopatra isn’t at Taposiris Magna," Martinez asserts. "To say that, you’d have to excavate the entire site and still find nothing." The archaeologist declares, "I won’t stop." She believes Cleopatra’s tomb is closer than ever, adding, "For me, it’s just a matter of time."

The significance of the find

The discovered port is located at a depth of 12 meters. The discovery of anchors, amphorae, and the remains of an inland port several kilometers off the coast of Taposiris Magna provide compelling evidence to support the hypothesis that this temple may have been chosen for the joint burial of Cleopatra and her lover, Mark Antony.

The discovery is not only archaeologically but also historically significant. Cleopatra VII was one of the most influential women of the ancient world. Her death effectively ended the Roman Republic’s final civil war between the triumvirs Octavian and Antony. Her suicide allowed her to avoid the humiliation of being held captive in a Roman triumph celebrating Octavian’s military victories.

Octavian ordered the assassination of Cleopatra’s son Caesarion, also known as Ptolemy XV, in Egypt, but spared her children by Antony and brought them to Rome. Cleopatra’s death marked the end of the Hellenistic period and Ptolemaic rule in Egypt, and the beginning of Roman Egypt, which became a province of the Roman Empire.