A woman with small nose and puffy lips. A statue found in Egypt, likely of Queen Cleopatra

A statue has been found in Egypt that probably depicts Queen Cleopatra VII. Scientists can now assume that the famous ruler had a small nose and pouty lips.

The found head of the statue is made of white marble. Next to it, archaeologists found 337 coins depicting Cleopatra, as well as a large assortment of ceramics, oil lamps, figurines and other artifacts in the temple of Taposiris Magna, DailyMail reports.

Archaeologist Kathleen Martinez has been searching for the long-lost tomb of Cleopatra VII, who ruled Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, for nearly 20 years. And now the head of the queen's statue, found near her probable resting place in the temple of Taposiris Magna, gives impetus and clues for further search.

The unearthed white marble head reveals a woman with a small nose, pouty lips, and hair braided around her head. According to Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, this is another "important find."

In addition to the potential statue of Cleopatra, Kathleen Martinez and her team also found coins, ceramics, and a limestone bust of the king adorned with a Nemesa, the ceremonial headdress of the pharaohs.

Among the valuable finds are a scarab-shaped amulet with the inscription "Justice Ra has shone" and a bronze ring dedicated to the goddess Hathor, experts say. The researchers also discovered a large cemetery with 20 burial chambers and a tomb with three chambers under the Taposiris Magna lighthouse.

Kathleen Martinez opened the tunnel under the famous temple in 2022. "If there is even a one percent chance that the last queen of Egypt may be buried there, then it is my duty to find her. This is the first time that any archaeologist has found tunnels, passages underground inside the temple's enclosing walls," the researcher said at the time.

Martínez believes that after Mark Antony committed suicide after being defeated by Caesar Augustus, also known as Octavian, Cleopatra developed a detailed plan to have them both buried under the temple.

The analysis of ceramic fragments discovered during the excavations also confirmed that the construction of the Taposiris Magna temple dates back to the first century BC. In addition, the name of the temple means "the great tomb of Osiris," which indicates that it was dedicated to the god Osiris and his queen, the goddess Isis, whose reincarnation was believed to be Cleopatra, scientists say.

According to researchers, today the temple of Taposiris Magna is in ruins. For centuries, the Egyptian coast suffered from earthquakes, causing parts of the temple to collapse and sink into the sea.

Archaeologist Kathleen Martinez first began to explore this place in 2005, as she believes that Cleopatra could have been buried there after her suicide in 30 BC.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that Egyptologist Sally Ann Ashton reconstructed the appearance of the Egyptian ruler Cleopatra.

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