Aspiring Archaeologist Explains Why Cleopatra’s Body Will Never Be Found Over Wine: ‘She Knew Better Than to Make Sure Her Body Was Found’

Mummies of noble birth have been dug up from all over Egypt, but some of the most notable figures in the region have yet to be found. The body of Queen Cleopatra has been notoriously difficult to locate, and Art Histrionic (@arthistrionic), an aspiring archaeologist on TikTok, explained why. She believes that the Egyptian queen simply doesn’t want to be found.

“We are never finding Cleopatra’s body. And we are never finding Cleopatra’s tomb,” the academic shared online over a glass of wine. Despite her casual setup, she worked under Zahi Hawass, an Egyptologist who worked on the documentary Cleopatra’s Final Secret.

“Cleopatra’s probably one of the smartest women who ever lived, in terms of pure strategy, as well as education,” she said. Because of this, the scholar speculated that the queen understood what would happen if the Romans found her body.

Her eldest child with Julius Caesar was murdered by Octavian. The rest of her children were paraded and then taken captive by the Romans. Thus, the scholar theorized that Cleopatra intentionally hid her body, as the Roman Empire saw her as an enemy. They would most likely subject her corpse to humiliation—something that no queen should ever go through in death.

“She knew better than to make sure her body was found,” she added.

That being said, there’s still a lot of mystery surrounding Cleopatra. There are hopes that one day, the missing queen’s body would emerge. But according to Art Histrionic, it’s unlikely to happen—and that the world of archaeology benefits from Cleopatra staying hidden.

Better hidden than found

“Archaeology pays nothing, not a penny at all,” she claims. Although there is always hunger for new discoveries, the budget largely comes from the media attention a research topic often receives.

She continued, “The more attention your project is getting, the more money you can make to fund your project academically. And the more money, the more likely you are to get an approval from the Ministry of Antiquities to get permits to keep digging everything.” The agency she referred to is an official government office in Egypt. The Ministry of Antiquities is responsible for the protection, preservation, and management of the country’s archaeological sites, history, and museums. She further explained that this agency works closely with the Ministry of Tourism.

Essentially, the scholar believes that the projects that get approved implicitly have to positively affect Egypt’s tourism. Because the country’s tourism is heavily reliant on tourism, there has to be a stronger push to make it both appear interesting and safe for tourists to explore.

Cleopatra as the queen of headlines

But the scholar also said that not all archaeologists share the same opinion. She believes Kathleen Martinez, who is also an Egyptologist who worked on Cleopatra’s Final Secret, genuinely thinks that the queen may still be found. Nevertheless, the tomb of Cleopatra isn’t the only one worth searching for.

As Art Histrionic pointed out, funding is given to what gets better headlines. It isn’t given only to what may be more important to research on. For instance, Zahi Hawass claimed that finding Khufu is a more significant finding than Cleopatra. However, the discovery didn’t garner as many sensationalist headlines. Basically, what’s good for academia and knowledge may not generate as much buzz and interest for Egypt.

Given all this, the mysteries surrounding Cleopatra are often used as a pretense to fund other important research. The missing queen might one day re-emerge, or archaeologists might even find her remains in a simple, long-forgotten grave. But until then, her name will be funding other relevant breakthroughs.

(featured image: hayriyenur)

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