The pyramid of a previously unknown ancient Egyptian queen is one of several stunning new discoveries in Egypt.
A few weeks ago, everyone's focus was on the United Nations Climate Change Conference,
but this is by no means the only big news from Egypt.
Recently, several exciting archaeological finds dating back thousands of years have been discovered there.
From mysterious pyramids to miraculous tunnels!
In this video, we take a look at some of the most amazing discoveries recently made in Egypt.
CONSCIOUSNESS
Geometric Wonder Tunnel
Archaeologists have discovered a rock-cut tunnel beneath the ancient Egyptian temple of Tapuziris Magna -
and it may lead to the lost tomb of Cleopatra, who was the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt from 51 to 30 BC.
Cleopatra famously died by suicide after her husband, the Roman general Mark Antony also committed suicide.
The two are believed to have been buried together.
Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the find just weeks ago,
describing the 1 kilometer and 300 meters (0.8 miles) long tunnel, located 13 meters (43 feet) underground,
as a "geometrical wonder".
It is similar to the Eupalinos Tunnel on the Greek island of Samos, considered one of the engineering marvels of antiquity.
Kathleen Martinez is an archaeologist at the University of Santo Domingo and has been searching for Cleopatra's lost tomb
for nearly 20 years,
and after more than a decade of research is convinced that Taposiris Magna,
located on the outskirts of Alexandria and dedicated to Osiris,
the god of the dead, is the leading candidate for a place where the queen rests.
After hundreds of ignored emails, Martinez managed to secure a meeting in Cairo with archaeologist Zahi Hawass,
then Egypt's minister of antiquities.
She convinces him to give her two months to excavate the site. This is how the work has been going on since 2004.
Now she believes she has made a key breakthrough.
The new find is the most convincing evidence yet that Martinez is on the right track.
She and her team uncover a 1,305-meter-long tunnel located 13 meters underground.
"The excavations revealed a huge religious center with three sanctuaries, a sacred lake, more than 1,500 objects, busts,
statues, gold figures, a huge collection of coins depicting Alexander the Great,
Queen Cleopatra, and the Ptolemies," Martinez told CNN.
"The most interesting discovery is the complex of tunnels leading to the Mediterranean Sea and the sunken structures," she adds.
Parts of the Taposiris Magna tunnel are submerged in water and its exact purpose is currently unknown.
The study of these underwater structures will be the next stage in the search for the lost tomb of the Egyptian queen,
a journey that began in 2004.
"Some people may consider my persistence an obsession. I admire Cleopatra as a historical figure.
She was a victim of Roman propaganda aimed at distorting her image," says Martinez.
"Cleopatra was an educated woman, probably the first to study formally at the Museum in Alexandria,
a center of culture in her day." - Shares Martinez.
When her husband, the Roman general Mark Antony, died in her arms in 30 BC,
Cleopatra took her own life soon after by allowing the asp to bite her.
The moment has been immortalized in art and literature, but more than two millennia later,
the whereabouts of their remains are still unknown.
A series of clues led Martinez to believe that Cleopatra's tomb might be located in the Temple of Osiris
in the ruined city of Taposiris Magna, on the northern coast of Egypt, where the Nile River flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
The main medium, according to the archaeologist, is the name itself.
According to Martínez, Cleopatra was considered in her time to be the "human incarnation of the goddess Isis",
as Antony was considered to be that of the god Orysis, husband of Isis.
Martinez thinks that Cleopatra may have chosen to bury her husband in the temple to reflect this myth.
Of all the 20 temples around Alexandria that she has studied, Martinez says,
no other site, structure or temple combines as many conditions as the temple of Taposiris Magna."
Excavations so far, in addition to the architectural marvels, have uncovered mummies with golden tongues
and a cemetery containing Greco-Roman mummies buried facing the temple,
supporting the theory that a royal tomb was built in the area.
A bust believed to depict Cleopatra and 22 coins with her face were also found.
In addition to the tunnel, the latest find includes two alabaster statues from the Ptolemaic era,
one of which appears to be a sphinx, as well as ceramic vessels and pots.
The part of the tunnel that is under water is thought to be the result of ancient earthquakes that
affected the region between 320 and 1303 BC.
These natural disasters may have led to the collapse of Taposiris Magna.
Excavations so far reveal that "the temple was dedicated to Isis" - which Martinez says
is another sign that the lost tomb is nearby - as well as tunnels under the sea.
Now, Martinez says he is at the "beginning of a new journey" -- the underwater excavations ahead.
The pyramid of an unknown ancient Egyptian queen
One hundred years after the discovery of King Tut's tomb, a team of archaeologists discovered the pyramid
of a previously unknown ancient Egyptian queen, containing coffins, mummies,
artifacts and a series of interconnected underground tunnels.
The team discovers that her name is Nate, and according to Egyptologist Zahi Hawass,
Egypt's former minister of state for antiquities,
she is not mentioned in the historical records we know so far.
Therefore, the team still has a lot of work to do to learn more about its management and history.
"It is amazing to literally rewrite what we know about the history of ancient Egypt by adding a new queen to our records."- says Havas.
Archaeologists are working at a site about 20 miles south of Cairo called Saqqara.
The recently discovered coffins and mummies likely belong to some of King Tutankhamun's closest advisers and generals.
The boy pharaoh ruled from about 1333 BC. until his death in 1323 BC,
and the discovery of his intact pyramid in 1922 made headlines around the world.
During these excavations, the team also examined a nearby pyramid that belonged to the first king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt named Teti.
"Teti was revered as a god in the New Kingdom and everyone wanted to be buried with him," Hawass told NBC News.
The team found nearly 300 coffins near his pyramid, many of them preserved in good condition.
According to Hawass, most of the burials known so far in this area were from the Old Kingdom
or the Late Period of Egyptian history.
The New Kingdom period, also called the Egyptian Empire, lasted from the 11th century BC to the 6th century BC.
Returning to the new discovery, Havs shares:
"Until now, no other New Kingdom burials were known to occur in this area, so what we find now is a unique discovery for the site."
"The coffins depict individual faces, each unique, distinguishing between male and female,
decorated with scenes from the Book of the Dead.
Each coffin bears the name of the deceased and depicts the Four Sons of Horus, who protect the deceased's organs."
100 years later, discoveries at Saqqara seem to be just beginning.
"I really believe that next year this site will be the most important in Egypt," Hawass said of the new discovery.
The oldest tomb in Egypt is oriented towards the winter solstice
A few days ago, a team from the Spanish University of Malaga and the University of Jaen
announced the discovery of the oldest tomb in Egypt, which is oriented towards the sunrise during the winter solstice.
This is one of the most "remarkable" tombs out of the hundred or so burial complexes in the area.
The entrance to the tomb is oriented exactly towards the sunrise, and every year on the shortest day of the year,
the sun's rays cover the place intended for the placement of a statue of the governor of Elephantine
who lived at the end of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt, around 1830 BC.
The tomb is located in the Qubbet el-Hawa necropolis,
which is located on the banks of the Nile River about 500 miles south of Cairo.
In a paper published recently in Mediterranean Archeology and Archaeometry,
the team explains that in order to achieve a perfect orientation to the sun,
the Egyptian architect used a pole about three meters long, a square,
and several slaves to calculate the orientation of the entire chapel and the location of the statue.
With the help of these measurements, the tomb perfectly recorded the entire solar cycle related to the idea
of rebirth and renewal.
The winter solstice was significant to the ancient Egyptians.
It symbolized the beginning of the sun's victory over darkness, as the day grew longer,
while the summer solstice usually coincided with the beginning of the annual flooding of the Nile River.
Both events contained important symbolism related to the resurrection of the deceased governor.
The tomb of this governor is cataloged under No. 33 and was probably built by governor Hekaib-ankh.
It was excavated between 2008 and 2018.
After the period in which it was built was recently established - around 1830 BC - thanks to software called Dialux Evo,
the exact position of the sun during that period was recreated.
"This study shows that the Egyptians were able to calculate the position of the sun
and the orientation of its rays to design their monuments."
In addition, the tomb "can be considered the oldest private funerary project in which a perfect alignment between
the solstices was achieved, indicating the presence of individuals with highly sophisticated religious
and technical training even in provincial courts such as Elephantine"
Although Tomb No. 33 from Qubbet el-Hawa is the oldest example ever discovered,
it is certainly not the only one," the team said in a statement.
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