Archaeologists discover 'miracle' hidden in ancient Egyptian tomb
Catherine Shuttleworth, April 27 2026
Underneath a temple in th ancient ruined city of Taposiris Magna, archeologists discovered a vast tunnel, referred to by experts as a "geometric miracle".
The
structure was discovered 13 metres (43 feet) below the ground by
Kathleen Martinez of the University of Santo Domingo in the Dominican
Republic and colleagues during an ongoing excavation of the temple. The
2-metre tall tunnel had been hewn through an incredible 1,305 metres
(4,281 feet) of sandstone.
According to the Egyptian Ministry of
Tourism and Antiquities, the tunnel's design is similar to the
1,306-metre Tunnel of Eupalinos - a 6th-century BC aqueduct on the Greek
island of Samos, often referred to as a marvel of engineering.
And it seems the Taposiris Magna tunnel is just as impressive.
The tunnel's purpose is currently unknown, with parts of it submerged in water.
Martinez,
who has been working in Taposiris Magna since 2004 in search of the
lost tomb of Cleopatra VII, believes the tunnel to be a promising lead.
Taposiris
Magna was founded around 280 BCE by Ptolemy II, the son of Alexander
the Great's renowned general and one of Cleopatra's forebears.
The
team believes the temple was dedicated to the god Osiris and his queen,
the goddess Isis - the deity with whom Cleopatra courted a strong
association. Figurines of Isis, as well as coins bearing the names and
likenesses of Cleopatra and Alexander the Great, have been found there.
Future work could give us more information on whether the new tunnel could lead to these long-lost tombs.
The
next steps include exploring the nearby Mediterranean Sea. Between 320
and 1303 CE, a series of earthquakes hit the coast, causing part of the
temple to collapse and be swallowed by the waves. Previous excavations
have revealed a network of tunnels stretching from Lake Mariout to the
Mediterranean.
The tunnel has already yielded some treasures: a rectangular block of limestone and pieces of pottery.
In
2009, then-Minister for Antiquities Zahi Hawass said, "If we discover
the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, it will be the most important
discovery of the 21st century. If we did not discover the tomb of
Cleopatra and Mark Antony, we made major discoveries here, inside the
temple and outside the temple."
