The approximately 4,300 foot-long underground tunnel, from the Smithsonian Magazine and the Egyptian Ministry

of Tourism and Antiquities.

A Tunnel Leading to Cleopatra: Publicly

Posted but not Published

A 4,281 foot-long tunnel found under a temple in Egypt is speculated to

potentially lead to the lost tomb of Cleopatra, the problem is none of the

excavation’s findings are being academically reviewed or published.

Egyptians. In and around the tunnel, Martinez has found over 1,500 objects, busts, statues,

golden pieces, and a collection of coins depicting Alexander the Great, Queen Cleopatra, and the

Ptolemies. Because of the state of the tunnel, Martinez’s team will continue examining the site

with underwater excavations next.

Competing theories have arisen as to the nature of the tunnel’s purpose with some arguing that it

was likely an aqueduct as it closely resembles the Eupalinos Tunnel in Greece that carried water

for over one thousand years on the Greek island of Samos. Others, such as Martinez, are

outspoken believers that it will lead to the lost tomb of Queen Cleopatra.

Cleopatra was believed to be the human incarnation of Isis, and her husband Mark Antony was

understood as the human incarnation of Isis’ husband Osiris. The temple under which the tunnel

formal archaeological education (as she was previously a lawyer before leaving her job to pursue

Cleopatra). There are no available academic publications about the tunnel raising issues of

authority and credibility, and begging the question: who gets to ‘do’ archaeology?

The temple of Taposiris Magna in Egypt, from CNN Style.

findings?

Martinez has made no formal academic publications about her excavations at the temple of

Taposiris Magna, and instead I’ve had to rely on her social media postings and occasional

National Geographic documentary episode appearances. She mainly posts on Instagram and

Facebook, sharing various pictures from her digs with only a few specific findings. The posts

also have varying degrees of descriptions in the captions, oftentimes with very minimal

Her captions frequently offer her own interpretations of the findings and are usually originally

written in another language before being translated into English (creating an interesting and

potentially restrictive language barrier).

Only in her most recent Facebook post, from November 14, 2022, does Martinez mention that it

is too early to draw conclusions, writing: “It is important to clarify that, so far, NO grave has

been found, or specific structure under the Mediterranean Sea. Neither my team nor I know yet

the dimension of the findings that could be found under the sea. Upcoming underwater

explorations will help us complete information on this important archaeological site of Taposiris

Magna, so it’s still too early to make guesses.” This is a necessary note because of the informal

nature of the presentation of her findings. People in the comment sections frequently commend

The other direct source of information about the excavations from Martinez are in episodes of

the National Geographic documentary series Lost Treasures of Egypt. These episodes feature

numerous excavations happening around Egypt and don’t focus solely on Martinez. In addition,

they heavily portray themes of discovery and adventure, dramatizing and reproducing the

idealized, stereotypical experience of archaeology that the mainstream media understands.

Kathleen Martinez at the site of the tunnel, captioned “Preparing myself to go down inside the ‘promising’ shaft,”

from Instagram @drkathleenmartinez.

Who even ‘does’ archaeology? Who produces knowledge?

The lack of academic publications about such a supposedly important discovery presents an

interesting narrative about who is allowed to formally participate in archaeology and produce

the same privileges for grant funding, excavation, and publication (although she does now

research for the University of Santo Domingo). She posts her findings on social media and

appears in documentaries, but she has not created academic publications or ‘produced

knowledge’ in the typical way for an archaeologist.

This leads to an interesting discussion about overall academic gatekeeping and the authority of

her research if it is not peer-reviewed. It asks if formal publications and peer-review processes

are required for ‘properly’ producing and sharing ‘credible’ knowledge? Peer-review publishing

processes are also heavily subject to in-group bias—favoring elite, white men. Another question

I’ve considered in my research is: does her work have less validity if it is not convolutedly

written and published in an academic journal? In addition, can she share her research publicly

audience and represents history creatively.

Her research should be respected as ‘real’ archaeology while also noting that any interpretations

made need to be supported by factual evidence. Her clear pursuit of a named historical figure in

the archaeological record can cause premature conclusions about her findings, but that should

also not dismiss the overall importance of what she has discovered. While there is little to no

direct evidence that the tunnel will lead to Cleopatra, it is still an impressive feat of engineering

and important archaeological discovery.

Kathleen Martinez in the tunnel, captioned “We managed to extract some of the water and move forward. Looks

promising ,” from Instagram @drkathleenmartinez.

Edwards, Christian. “Tunnel discovered beneath Egyptian temple may lead to Cleopatra's tomb,

Kuta, Sarah. “Archaeologists Discover 4,300-Foot-Long Tunnel Under Ancient Egyptian

Martin, Michael. “Archaeologists Believe They May Have Finally Found the Lost Tomb of