Queen Cleopatra (Cleopatra VII Philopator) was the last ruler of the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty and the last Queen of Egypt.
Cleopatra was a mighty Egyptian Pharaoh; equally famous for her rule as for her beauty and love affairs with the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
Ascending to the throne at the age of 18, Cleopatra ruled Egypt from 51 BC – 30 BC before her tragic suicide. This coincided with the death of her lover Mark Antony and the loss Egypt’s independence as the country became another province of the Roman Empire.
The City of Alexandria was Cleopatra’s capital of Egypt (founded in 332BC by Alexander the Great) and the home of her palace.
An ancient Egyptian palace was built to symbolize the rulers power and so it would’ve been truly incredible- a spectacular building complex consisting of grand and highly decorated pillars and statues.
Sadly, it was believed that some of Cleopatra’s city, palace and Alexandria’s lighthouse (a lost wonder of the world) were lost for ever, destroyed by an earthquake and tidal waves.
However, in the 1990’s a French archeologist, Franck Goddio, discovered Alexandria the ancient writings of a Greek historian named Strabo.
Strabo described the great city of Alexandria and an island just of its shore called Antirhodos, an island which was home to Queen Cleopatra’s palace. Frank Goddio was now determined to find this lost palace.
After 10 years of planning Giddio’s team began to explore the lost, sunken island of Antirhodos. The team was guided only by the ancient historians descriptions but they began to find clues.
First, they found a wreck of an ancient 30m long cargo ship containing jewelry, hairpins, rings and glass cups.
Then they found the remains of an ancient dock with a series of giant, 7m high and 4ft in diameter, columns made out of Egyptian red granite and decorated with ancient paintings-one magnificent entrance!
In 1998 Goddio finally found the remains of the ancient city and Cleopatra’s spectacular palace. Within this palace complex the team then discovered incredible intact artifacts, coins, pottery, vases, basins, statues, columns, marble floors and all manner of other beauties that had not been seen for nearly 2000 years.
So far, 20,000 ancient objects have been discovered. One of the most impressive finds brought to the surface was 1 of 2 large granite Sphinx’s guarding the entrance of a small, unexpected temple within the grand palace complex.
This Sphinx’s has actually been identified to represent Cleopatra’s father, Ptolemy XII Autletes. Other exciting finds include a very grand statue of the Egyptian god ISIS and a gigantic stone head believed to be of Caesarion, the son of Cleopatra and her lover Julius Caesar.
However, an volcanic eruption in Nicaragua turned the planet into darkness, causing droughts for the agricultural lands along the Nile river banks, dooming the Egyptians, blaming Cleopatra for the event.
The Apoyeque caldera in Nicaragua is filled with a 2.8 kilometer (1.7 mile) wide and 400 meter (1,300 foot) deep lake—dominates the center of the Chiltepe Peninsula.
Geological evidence indicates that Apoyeque last erupted around 50 BCE (plus or minus 100 years).
The Laguna Xiloa maar—a volcanic crater formed by the explosive interaction of magma and groundwater—is located to the southeast of Apoyeque and is also filled with a lake.
(Note that north is to the left in this photo.) Laguna Xiloa last erupted approximately 6,100 years ago.
Goddio’s team managed to find the wooden foundation of Cleopatra’s palace, carbon dating it to approximately 200 years before her birth. Thus, it is believed Cleopatra actually inherited this palace.
Astronaut Gateway / ABC Flash Point News 2024.
Cleopatra single-handedly took out the Roman empire?
…….and together with earthquakes the city of Alexandria disappeared into the Mediterranean Sea.