Unearthed (2016–…): Season 11, Episode 3 - Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great - full transcript
The magnificent tomb of Alexander the Great - one of history's greatest icons - mysteriously vanishes and becomes a legend. Using CGI, investigators piece together the evidence to reveal where his tomb lies and what it might look like.
Egypt, the land of pyramids,
and the Valley of the Kings,
grand tombs for great pharaohs.
Hundreds of royal mummies
are discovered here,
but the body of one iconic ruler
is missing...
Alexander the Great, conqueror
of ancient Egypt.
Alexander the Great is a name
who rings through history.
One of the world's
most successful
Military commanders.
Worshipped as a god.
Now, explorers
are on a mission...
Wow.
...to find the lost tomb
of Alexander.
Where is Alexander buried?
What does his tomb look like?
And how was he lost to history?
Finding his tomb would be one of
the most incredible
and earth-shattering
archeological discoveries ever.
To solve these mysteries,
we unearth millennia-old tombs,
we blow apart
ancient structures,
digitally reconstruct
Alexander's lost tomb
and his magnificent mausoleum
to investigate one of
history's most
enduring mysteries,
the hunt for the lost tomb of
Alexander the Great.
Alexandria, Egypt,
founded by Alexander the Great
in 331 BCE.
He is one of the most
celebrated names in all history
and wages one of the most
successful military campaigns
of all time.
He had both the charisma
to command his troops
While at the same time being
a master military tactician.
By the age of 20,
Alexander conquers all
of Greece.
Then he invades Egypt
and becomes a pharaoh.
At 30, he is king of Persia,
ruling the largest empire
in the world.
Egyptologist Arto Belekdanian
is fascinated by
Alexander the Great
And his military prowess.
This map shows
the conquests of Alexander
the Great... from his home in
Macedonia in 334 BC,
he sets out on his epic
struggle against
the Persians, and he defeats
all in his way.
But Alexander's
success is short-lived.
He is cut down in his prime,
aged just 32.
There are several conflicting
reports, but most sources agree
That there was
a long period of high fever.
Alexander is one of the most
powerful men who ever lives.
He is worthy of
a magnificent burial.
According to legend,
when Alexander dies,
his embalmers preserve
his body in honey.
They dress him
in his military outfit
Before encasing his corpse
in a golden coffin.
The gold is later replaced
with glass.
He is sealed in
a stone sarcophagus.
Where is this great conqueror's
final resting place?
And what does his tomb
look like?
The location of
the tomb of Alexander
the Great is one of
archaeology's absolute
greatest mysteries.
People have been hunting
for it for centuries.
Alexander dies in Babylon,
the most spectacular city
of the ancient world.
Priests embalm his body.
Then his generals begin
the long journey to
take Alexander back to
his homeland in Macedonia.
But during the journey,
they run into trouble.
One of the best
sources describing
what happened comes from
the Parian marble.
The Parian marble is
a chronological list of
ancient events.
It is carved by
the ancient Greeks
around 60 years
after Alexander dies.
And it reads,
Alexander was laid
to rest in Memphis,
not in Macedonia.
After attending
a banquet in Babylon in 323 BCE,
Alexander the Great falls ill
and dies.
Two years later, his perfectly
preserved body leaves Babylon
in a majestic
funerary procession
to return to Macedonia.
But Alexander's closest
general, Ptolemy,
diverts the convoy to Memphis,
the ancient capital of Egypt.
Ptolemy follows
a Macedonian custom
of burying his predecessor
so that
he can assert his own
right to the throne.
Arto heads to Saqqara,
the necropolis
of Memphis, in search of
Alexander's tomb.
Here, we have tombs dating back
to the very dawn of
Egyptian history.
Saqqara is where the
ancient Egyptians build
the very first pyramid,
the revolutionary step pyramid
of Djoser.
This necropolis
is a fitting place
for any pharaoh to be buried.
Arto starts his search in
the cemetery of
the 30th Dynasty.
It is in use just before
Alexander
takes control of Egypt.
This site is first
excavated in 1850
by French archaeologist,
Auguste Mariette.
Beneath the sand,
Mariette finds an avenue lined
with statues of sphinxes
that leads to the ruins of
an Egyptian temple,
one of the last to be built
before Alexander conquers Egypt.
On the southern side,
he discovers a chamber
just the right size for
a pharaoh's sarcophagus.
Guarding the entrance of
the temple,
an unusual semi-circle of
12 statues,
not of Egyptian gods
but of Greek philosophers.
Could this be the tomb of
Alexander the Great?
Wow.
Look at that.
So here are the statues,
the statues of the philosophers,
the writers.
The statues show signs
of erosion
from long exposure to
the elements.
But Arto can make out
some key details.
We can instantly tell
that they're
done in the Greek classical
Hellenistic tradition.
The pose,
the dress, everything...
That is decidedly not Egyptian.
The statues have been
dated to around 300 BCE,
shortly after Alexander is
laid to rest.
Arto believes the identity of
the statues is
A clue that Alexander
could be buried here.
We've got Homer, Plato,
Pindar,
and then Demetrius,
the leading philosopher
at the time of Ptolemy.
Alexander the Great definitely
would have been familiar
with at least some
of these people here,
and he received
an excellent education.
The statues of
Alexander's revered
Greek philosophers is
Persuasive evidence that
this could be his tomb.
But there is one discrepancy.
This tomb is distinctly
Egyptian in style.
Arto turns to
Auguste Marriott's photos
from his excavations
to understand why,
and he finds
something intriguing
It shows a king in
the company of a goddess.
We've got hieroglyphic
inscriptions, including,
best of all, cartouches,
Allowing us to identify
who this king is.
And it's Nectanebo II.
The tomb is originally
built for Nectanebo II,
the last native Egyptian pharaoh
before Alexander,
but he never uses it.
There it was, a royal monument
befitting a pharaoh,
just not being used.
And it is entirely possible
that Ptolemy used it
For Alexander.
But contemporary
accounts reveal that
Alexander's body doesn't stay
in Memphis for long.
Ancient sources
tell us that the body
of Alexander the Great was
moved from Memphis
to Alexandria.
In 305 BCE,
Ptolemy becomes pharaoh
and moves the capital of Egypt
from Memphis to Alexandria.
His successor,
Ptolemy Philadelphus, removes
the body of Alexander
from Memphis
so that it can be buried in
the new capital.
It's possible Philadelphus uses
the sarcophagus of Nectanebo II
to transport the great conqueror
to Alexandria,
before laying his body
to rest in
a grand Macedonian tomb
at the heart of the city.
Finding his tomb would be one of
the most incredible and
earth-shattering archeological
discoveries ever.
Is Alexander the Great's
ultimate tomb in Alexandria?
Can a monumental structure on
the city's outskirts
reveal clues?
Alexandria,
the jewel of Egypt,
named after its founder,
Alexander the Great,
the Macedonian warrior king
who becomes pharaoh.
Arto Belekdanian
is on the hunt for Alexander's
tomb in Egypt's
ancient capital.
Ancient sources
tell us that the body
of Alexander the Great was moved
from Memphis to Alexandria
and buried somewhere
in the city.
He starts his mission
at a mysterious
white alabaster tomb on
the edge of Alexandria.
This tomb was excavated in 1907,
and it is believed to date
to the very dawn
of the Ptolemaic Period.
So we're talking Ptolemy I,
Ptolemy II, during whose reigns
is when the body of Alexander
was moved from Memphis
to Alexandria.
In its original form,
this large alabaster doorway
lies under a mound of earth,
a typical feature of
a Macedonian tomb.
The entrance leads to a burial
chamber for an important
Macedonian figure.
Could this be Alexander's
last resting place?
The burial chamber
is lost to history.
So Arto starts his investigation
in the entrance chamber.
Just looking at this
monument, you can tell that this
belongs to someone
immensely influential.
I mean, first of all, just
the simple size of it,
and the fact that it's made
of this beautiful alabaster
and monolithic,
massive blocks of it, as well.
To get alabaster of this
quality was a vast expense,
something that only royalty
could afford.
Arto compares the structure to
the entrance of
Alexander's father's tomb,
which is unearthed
in northern Greece.
We can tell that these are
done in the same tradition.
They are remarkably similar.
So we've got this doorway,
a facade, that leads into
the chambers inside,
and it's all under a mound.
The entrance has
the same layout as Alexander's
father's tomb.
And Arto believes it looks
identical on the outside, too.
This was not meant to be seen.
This would have been
underground, under the tumulus,
The hill.
Arto pieces together the clues.
What we have here
is a lavish tomb
that is done in a purely
Greco-Macedonian style,
and it dates to very early on in
the Ptolemaic period,
so Ptolemy I, Ptolemy II.
What that means is
this is a very strong
contender for
The tomb of Alexander
the Great in Alexandria.
But when archeologists search
for the larger burial chamber
that should connect to
the entrance chamber,
they find nothing.
Instead, they discover
a surprising feature.
Less than three feet
from the structure,
experts unearth
a well, built more
than 600 years
after Alexander's death.
What does it reveal
about the origin of the tomb?
The fact that
the alabaster tomb is
right here above the well
that is supposedly much
later in date has led some to
argue that the alabaster tomb
is not sitting
in its original location,
but rather that it was
moved here.
The evidence suggests
the tomb is moved from
the city center to where
it stands now.
This aligns remarkably with
historical sources, which state
that Alexander's first tomb
is only temporary before he is
moved to something more lavish.
What this means is
the alabaster tomb may very well
be the first tomb of Alexander
the Great in Alexandria.
Alexander views himself as a god
and son of the almighty
Greek deity, Zeus.
His successors promote
his God-King image in
a cult to legitimize their own
divine rule over Egypt.
To strengthen the dynastic
cult, Ptolemy IV Philopator
removes Alexander from
his tomb to place him in a new
royal monument called the Soma.
This grand edifice not only
contains the body of Alexander
but also the ashes of
the three first Ptolemaic kings.
This was a very clever PR move.
By doing so, Ptolemy IV
forged a link in
the public mind between
Alexander the Great
and his dynasty,
thus having the divinity
of Alexander the Great
reflect onto his own dynasty.
Even in death,
Alexander wields
significant power.
Ptolemy IV uses this connection
To the iconic ruler
to his advantage.
Where is the Soma, the final
resting place of Alexander?
Could clues in an ancient map
reveal the location of
Alexander's last mausoleum,
a structure so grand, it could
even rival one
of the Seven Wonders?
Alexander the Great is
buried in two temporary tombs
before he is finally laid to
rest in a grand mausoleum,
the Soma, in the center of
his capital city, Alexandria.
But its location is lost
from the history books.
Archaeologist Alicia Johnson
joins the search.
When you're on the hunt
for Alexander the Great,
you have to think like
a detective, you have to dig
through the pitfalls.
But in the end,
it's exciting, because
we are in the search
of a legend.
Alicia believes that the lavish
Soma lies somewhere
beneath modern Alexandria.
She begins her search
at Qaitbay Citadel,
a 15th century CE fort
located by Alexandria's
great harbor.
It gives her a spectacular
view across the ancient city.
Alexandria is
the largest city in antiquity.
Ancient texts describe
the great monuments
spread across the capital,
temples dedicated
to Greek and Egyptian gods,
vast palaces, a famed library.
And a majestic lighthouse
over the harbor.
Ptolemy IV reburies Alexander in
a grand mausoleum
somewhere in the city,
but the ancient city is all
buried beneath
modern Alexandria.
Where is Alexander buried?
The first clue comes from Roman
poet Lucan,
who describes the Soma.
"Though you preserve Alexander
in the consecrated grotto,
"and the ashes of the kings
rest beneath a loftily
"constructed edifice,
"though the dead Ptolemies
and their unworthy
"dynasty are covered by
indignant pyramids
and mausoleums..."
This could mean
Alexander's mausoleum has
a triangular
or pyramid-shaped roof.
And the clue ties in
with an intriguing
inscription left behind
by a Roman trader,
Julius Philosyrius.
As a trader,
he more than most likely
would have visited Alexandria,
and on his sarcophagus,
there's quite
an interesting inscription
in regards to the possible
location of
Alexander the Great.
The sarcophagus
shows a harbor scene
with a lighthouse on
the right... on the left,
a structure that resembles
the royal palace,
and in between the two,
a tall building with
a triangular-shaped roof,
just as the Soma is described
by Lucan.
Alicia wants to narrow down
the tomb's location
by comparing the inscription
on the sarcophagus to the known
location of ancient landmarks.
We are at the modern day
Qaitbay Citadel, which is
the location for where
the ancient lighthouse of
Alexandria was constructed.
The lighthouse of Alexandria is
a marvel of engineering,
one of the seven wonders
of the ancient world.
It stands up to 360 feet
and dominates the skyline
of Alexandria.
Alicia has identified
the first clue.
The Soma must lie between here
and the royal palace.
She examines further
written references.
A final clue comes
from the ancient Greek
author, Zenobius.
He claimed that the Soma was in
the center of the heart
of Alexandria.
And while it's not exactly
very specific,
we can refer back to ancient
maps to maybe be able to
consider where might Alexander
have been buried?
The clues lead Alicia to one of
the oldest roads that runs
through modern Alexandria.
We're right near
El Horreya, which is an ancient
road that has followed its way
for thousands of years.
El Horreya is
the principal road of
the ancient city, running east
to west through the center.
And it's really useful for me,
because it allows me to be
able to orientate myself when
evaluating and researching
ancient maps of the city.
Alicia investigates
a map drawn by Egyptian
cartographer, Mahmud Bey,
in the late 1800s.
It's one of the most
accurate maps we have
of ancient Alexandria.
Maps such as these help
us to be able to consider
where might ancient sites be
found in modern day locations.
Mahmud marks
the junction of El Horreya
and a second unnamed road as
the center of the ancient city.
The ancient crossroads must be
somewhere along the El Horreya,
the main road that still runs
through the heart of the city.
Legends say Alexander
designs his city
by marking out the boundaries
using barley flour.
Thousands of birds flock down
to eat the flour.
But Alexander's prophet
takes this as a good omen
that the city will
provide for its people.
The city borders
are said to take
the shape of a Macedonian
military cloak, and inside,
the planners lay out streets
in a series of grids.
At its heart,
the two main roads intersect to
form the most prestigious
crossroad of Alexandria.
Further up El Horreya,
Alicia stops at
a large crossroads.
The crossroads at the
heart of the city of Alexandria.
Logically speaking,
this might be
where Alexander the Great
is buried.
Today, very little of
the ancient city survives.
But all the clues suggest
Alexander's grand
mausoleum lies right here
beneath this modern crossroads.
The Roman texts
described the famous Soma
towering over the city for
over 600 years.
But by 390 CE,
this iconic monument
is never mentioned again.
It is wiped from history.
What happens
to him is a mystery.
Where had
Alexander the Great gone?
What happens to
Alexander's grand mausoleum?
Could the discovery of
2,000-year-old ruins
reveal what it looks like?
Alexander the Great,
one of history's most
enigmatic figures.
He builds one of the greatest
empires the world has
ever seen,
and at the age of just 32,
he dies.
He is buried in a grand
mausoleum in Alexandria,
where his tomb,
the Soma, vanishes from history.
What it looks like has been
a mystery
for thousands of years.
Investigator Andrew Chugg
is at the British Museum
in search
of clues to the design of
Alexander's mausoleum.
He begins his investigation
at statues found at
the ruins of one of the wonders
of the ancient world,
the mausoleum of Halicarnassus.
Here's a horse from
a tomb at Halicarnassus.
To give you an idea of
the scale of this tomb,
this is one of four horses
that stood
at the apex of its stepped
pyramidal roof.
Andrew believes
there is a connection
between the mausoleum
and Alexander's own tomb.
The clue again comes from
the Roman poet, Lucan.
The interesting point
here is that the poet Lucan,
in describing Alexander's tomb
in Alexandria, also calls it
Specifically a mausoleum.
So he's drawing a link
between Alexander's tomb
in Alexandria
and the spectacular tomb
of Mausolus in Halicarnassus.
The Mausoleum of
Halicarnassus is a towering
monument, built just 25 years
before Alexander dies,
built for King Mausolus
the Greek Kingdom, Caria,
whose name gives us the word
mausoleum to describe
a monumental tomb.
Can this monument unlock what
Alexander's tomb looks like?
Here is a statue
of King Mausolus
taken from his tomb,
the tomb that we call
the Mausoleum.
It was indeed
the very first mausoleum,
named after this king.
Philip IV, the Greek pharaoh who
builds Alexander's tomb
calls it a mausoleum.
The deliberate use of
the specific new word
suggests that
the buildings look alike.
So Alexander's tomb is
a grand, columned building,
which stands on top of
a great pedestal with
a pyramidal-shaped roof.
Ptolemy Philopator
was building a mausoleum,
not just for Alexander,
but also for his own ancestors.
He wanted to build
a quintessentially
Greek monument
In Alexandria to celebrate
them as Greek kings.
So that's probably why
he chose to use the mausoleum
at Halicarnassus as his model.
And there is strong evidence
Alexander saw the mausoleum at
Halicarnassus for himself.
In 367 BCE,
King Mausolus rules part of
the eastern Mediterranean from
his palace in Halicarnassus.
After a 24-year reign,
Mausolus dies,
leaving his wife,
Artemisia, heartbroken.
Inspired by nearby monuments,
she builds her husband
a grand tomb
that, over time,
takes on his name,
the Mausoleum.
Seventeen years later,
Alexander the Great
captures Halicarnassus.
The retreating Persians
set fire to the city,
but the great Mausoleum
is spared.
Halicarnassus is destroyed
in a series of earthquakes
in the Middle Ages.
But historical records talk of
its spectacular height.
Ancient sources indicate that
the mausoleum at Halicarnassus,
the original Mausoleum,
was about 45 meters high.
We don't have a specific
record of the height of
Alexander's tomb,
but I think we can imagine it
must have been at least on
the same scale.
Only the statues remain of
the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.
But remarkably,
the tomb that inspired it
is itself in the British Museum.
It is called
the Nereid Monument.
It is extraordinarily
well preserved,
so Andrew can examine
its features close up.
It has bands of
sculpture around its podium.
It has a roof supported
on an array of columns.
This is giving you
a good idea of the kind of
style that you would expect to
see in Alexander's tomb
in Alexandria.
Piecing together the clues,
it is now possible
to reconstruct
what Alexander's mausoleum
may look like.
For centuries,
Alexander the Great
lies in his glass coffin,
set within the sarcophagus
of Nectanebo II
and is placed inside a giant
mausoleum of Greek design,
the Soma.
According to ancient texts,
this monument stands at
the heart of a sacred burial
ground for Ptolemaic kings
in the royal quarter
of Alexandria,
A fitting final resting place
for the great warrior king.
This man had become a god.
Alexander's tomb would have
been an absolutely
spectacular monument,
probably greater
even than one of
the Seven Wonders,
the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
Alexander's mausoleum
is one of the most spectacular
buildings in the ancient world
and becomes a place of holy
pilgrimage for some of the most
important names in history.
A succession of notable
Romans... Julius Caesar,
Augustus Caesar, Hadrian.
Coming to worship at this
shrine is the only place that
you could see a tomb of
an actual God
in the Roman Empire.
Alexander's tomb
rivals the Seven Wonders
of the ancient world,
but it vanishes from history.
Could clues at an ancient
temple in Alexandria
reveal its fate?
Alicia Johnson
is searching for clues
to why no trace of Alexander
the Great's mausoleum,
the Soma, remains in
modern Alexandria.
She heads to the ruins of
the Serapeum,
an ancient temple in
the center of the city.
While it might not look like
much right now,
during the Ptolemaic time,
This was a fascinating
and fabulous temple complex.
In the west of
the city, on a hill,
stands the most magnificent
temple of Alexandria,
the Serapeum.
Inside, a statue of the Greek
Egyptian hybrid god, Serapis,
promoted by Ptolemy I
to unify his two peoples.
The cult of Serapis grows
even stronger in the Roman era
but comes to a violent end
when this temple is destroyed
in 391 CE.
What can this lost temple
reveal about Alexander's
missing tomb?
Alicia thinks the sphinxes at
the temple's entrance
hold the answer.
They were created with love
and attention to detail,
Because these monuments
weren't just statues.
They were deities,
they had power.
However, as you can see,
a part of the sphinx is missing.
The nose was cut off in
an attempt to remove the power
that was held within
these monuments.
Ancient Egyptians
believe that the nose
is the source of
the sculpture's power.
Cutting it off would cause
the spirit inside to
stop breathing.
So to remove the power of
one of these sphinxes by
cutting off their nose was
an attack on the ancient
Egyptian religion.
It was a deliberate act
of vandalism.
Alicia unearths evidence
of the identity of the vandal,
the man who could also be
responsible for the ultimate
fate of Alexander.
So what we have here is
a manuscript that dates back
to the fifth century.
But the figure
that's featured in
the manuscript is a man
named Theophilus.
Theophilus is the Christian
patriarch of Alexandria
At the end of
the 4th century CE.
What we see here in this image
is the Theophilus
standing on top
of a building that we can
recognize as the Serapeum...
In his hand,
holding the Christian Bible,
and stomping on the building.
It represents the complete
destruction of the pagan
religion that pre-existed
the incoming Christian ideology.
This image tells me
that the Serapeum
Was deliberately destroyed by
competing religious forces.
In 391 CE, Theophilus
orders Christians
to mock pagan objects
in a parade through Alexandria.
A fight breaks out, but
the Christians outnumber
the pagans and force them to
seek refuge in the Serapeum.
Theophilus receives orders
from Rome to pardon
The pagans and remove them
from their hideout.
Then, his soldiers and some
monks destroy the Serapeum
and other pagan buildings.
This was an incredibly
significant moment in
world history,
the destruction of the Serapeum,
and it starts to mark
the descent of
the pagan religion in
the transition into the new
Christian religion.
Considering Alexander
the Great was likely deified,
it is not surprising
that we can consider
the concept that maybe
Alexander the Great's mausoleum
was destroyed
in addition to other
pagan monuments.
The triumph of Christianity
in the Roman Empire is
devastating for pagan religions
across the ancient world.
The magnificent mausoleum
of Alexander the Great
and his tomb and mummified body
are unlikely to
have survived the catastrophe.
Alexander's holy tomb may have
been destroyed
by the Christians,
but clues suggest his body
might have survived.
Can startling
new evidence prove that
his body is swapped
for someone else?
Alexander the Great, one of
history's most celebrated
military commanders.
He dies at the age of just 32
and is buried in
a grand mausoleum,
which vanishes from history.
It's thought his body
is lost with his tomb.
But historian Andrew Chugg
has another theory.
It involves a surprising name
from history,
Saint Mark.
Saint Mark is
the author of the gospel
according to Saint Mark in
the New Testament.
He then goes to Egypt, where
he becomes the first patriarch
in Egypt, the founder of
Christianity in Egypt.
Conservator Ferdinando Forlati
excavates Saint Mark's tomb
in Venice in the 1960s.
He did a series of excavations,
and in the course of
those excavations,
he discovers a huge block of
what he initially thought was
Roman sculpture.
The beautifully carved
block depicts a lance
and a large shield with a star
emblem in the center.
That's the emblem
of Alexander's family.
We see that emblem on
the funeral casket
of his father, Philip.
It's very much the emblem that
we would expect to see on
the shield of Alexander
the Great.
It's a clue that makes
Andrew suspect the tomb
of Saint Mark could contain
the lost body of Alexander.
And he has more evidence
for this startling theory.
Saint Mark dies in Alexandria
in 68 CE,
but his tomb is not mentioned in
ancient literature until
centuries after his death.
This is around the same time
Alexander disappears from
the historical record.
And this coincidence extends to
the location of the tomb
of Saint Mark.
There's a medieval map,
which says that the body of
Saint Mark was discovered just
inside the eastern gate of
the medieval city.
That's a highly significant
location, because it
appears to have been
the central crossroads.
The central crossroads
is where Alexander's
famous mausoleum
is said to have been.
That means there's
a coincidence in place
as well as
the coincidence in time.
The chance discovery
of Saint Mark in
the location of Alexander's
mausoleum happens at
a suspicious time.
It's just when the worship of
non-Christian gods
is banned in Egypt and across
the Roman Empire.
Andrew believes
the body of Alexander
the Great is purposefully
re-identified.
There are probably a couple of
strong reasons
for relabeling the body of
Alexander as Saint Mark.
The first of them
is that he was a god
of the Greco-Roman pantheon,
and that was embarrassing
when paganism had
just been made illegal.
The Christians also needed
a great icon to be a focus for
the worship of Christianity
in Alexandria,
and it seems they didn't have
the body of Saint Mark,
because it had reputedly been
burnt in the 1st century AD.
Andrew suspects
Alexander lies in
the tomb of Saint Mark
for 300 years,
until he is taken to Venice
in 828 CE,
and the Basilica di San Marco,
where he lies to this day.
Experts still search
for the lost tomb
of Alexander the Great.
It is one of history's most
enduring mysteries.
He is buried first in Memphis
before his body
is moved to the capital city
of his empire, Alexandria.
He is later reburied
in the Soma,
a mausoleum comparable in size
and grandeur
To the Seven Wonders
of the ancient world.
Though his tomb
vanishes from history,
his body may survive.
and the Valley of the Kings,
grand tombs for great pharaohs.
Hundreds of royal mummies
are discovered here,
but the body of one iconic ruler
is missing...
Alexander the Great, conqueror
of ancient Egypt.
Alexander the Great is a name
who rings through history.
One of the world's
most successful
Military commanders.
Worshipped as a god.
Now, explorers
are on a mission...
Wow.
...to find the lost tomb
of Alexander.
Where is Alexander buried?
What does his tomb look like?
And how was he lost to history?
Finding his tomb would be one of
the most incredible
and earth-shattering
archeological discoveries ever.
To solve these mysteries,
we unearth millennia-old tombs,
we blow apart
ancient structures,
digitally reconstruct
Alexander's lost tomb
and his magnificent mausoleum
to investigate one of
history's most
enduring mysteries,
the hunt for the lost tomb of
Alexander the Great.
Alexandria, Egypt,
founded by Alexander the Great
in 331 BCE.
He is one of the most
celebrated names in all history
and wages one of the most
successful military campaigns
of all time.
He had both the charisma
to command his troops
While at the same time being
a master military tactician.
By the age of 20,
Alexander conquers all
of Greece.
Then he invades Egypt
and becomes a pharaoh.
At 30, he is king of Persia,
ruling the largest empire
in the world.
Egyptologist Arto Belekdanian
is fascinated by
Alexander the Great
And his military prowess.
This map shows
the conquests of Alexander
the Great... from his home in
Macedonia in 334 BC,
he sets out on his epic
struggle against
the Persians, and he defeats
all in his way.
But Alexander's
success is short-lived.
He is cut down in his prime,
aged just 32.
There are several conflicting
reports, but most sources agree
That there was
a long period of high fever.
Alexander is one of the most
powerful men who ever lives.
He is worthy of
a magnificent burial.
According to legend,
when Alexander dies,
his embalmers preserve
his body in honey.
They dress him
in his military outfit
Before encasing his corpse
in a golden coffin.
The gold is later replaced
with glass.
He is sealed in
a stone sarcophagus.
Where is this great conqueror's
final resting place?
And what does his tomb
look like?
The location of
the tomb of Alexander
the Great is one of
archaeology's absolute
greatest mysteries.
People have been hunting
for it for centuries.
Alexander dies in Babylon,
the most spectacular city
of the ancient world.
Priests embalm his body.
Then his generals begin
the long journey to
take Alexander back to
his homeland in Macedonia.
But during the journey,
they run into trouble.
One of the best
sources describing
what happened comes from
the Parian marble.
The Parian marble is
a chronological list of
ancient events.
It is carved by
the ancient Greeks
around 60 years
after Alexander dies.
And it reads,
Alexander was laid
to rest in Memphis,
not in Macedonia.
After attending
a banquet in Babylon in 323 BCE,
Alexander the Great falls ill
and dies.
Two years later, his perfectly
preserved body leaves Babylon
in a majestic
funerary procession
to return to Macedonia.
But Alexander's closest
general, Ptolemy,
diverts the convoy to Memphis,
the ancient capital of Egypt.
Ptolemy follows
a Macedonian custom
of burying his predecessor
so that
he can assert his own
right to the throne.
Arto heads to Saqqara,
the necropolis
of Memphis, in search of
Alexander's tomb.
Here, we have tombs dating back
to the very dawn of
Egyptian history.
Saqqara is where the
ancient Egyptians build
the very first pyramid,
the revolutionary step pyramid
of Djoser.
This necropolis
is a fitting place
for any pharaoh to be buried.
Arto starts his search in
the cemetery of
the 30th Dynasty.
It is in use just before
Alexander
takes control of Egypt.
This site is first
excavated in 1850
by French archaeologist,
Auguste Mariette.
Beneath the sand,
Mariette finds an avenue lined
with statues of sphinxes
that leads to the ruins of
an Egyptian temple,
one of the last to be built
before Alexander conquers Egypt.
On the southern side,
he discovers a chamber
just the right size for
a pharaoh's sarcophagus.
Guarding the entrance of
the temple,
an unusual semi-circle of
12 statues,
not of Egyptian gods
but of Greek philosophers.
Could this be the tomb of
Alexander the Great?
Wow.
Look at that.
So here are the statues,
the statues of the philosophers,
the writers.
The statues show signs
of erosion
from long exposure to
the elements.
But Arto can make out
some key details.
We can instantly tell
that they're
done in the Greek classical
Hellenistic tradition.
The pose,
the dress, everything...
That is decidedly not Egyptian.
The statues have been
dated to around 300 BCE,
shortly after Alexander is
laid to rest.
Arto believes the identity of
the statues is
A clue that Alexander
could be buried here.
We've got Homer, Plato,
Pindar,
and then Demetrius,
the leading philosopher
at the time of Ptolemy.
Alexander the Great definitely
would have been familiar
with at least some
of these people here,
and he received
an excellent education.
The statues of
Alexander's revered
Greek philosophers is
Persuasive evidence that
this could be his tomb.
But there is one discrepancy.
This tomb is distinctly
Egyptian in style.
Arto turns to
Auguste Marriott's photos
from his excavations
to understand why,
and he finds
something intriguing
It shows a king in
the company of a goddess.
We've got hieroglyphic
inscriptions, including,
best of all, cartouches,
Allowing us to identify
who this king is.
And it's Nectanebo II.
The tomb is originally
built for Nectanebo II,
the last native Egyptian pharaoh
before Alexander,
but he never uses it.
There it was, a royal monument
befitting a pharaoh,
just not being used.
And it is entirely possible
that Ptolemy used it
For Alexander.
But contemporary
accounts reveal that
Alexander's body doesn't stay
in Memphis for long.
Ancient sources
tell us that the body
of Alexander the Great was
moved from Memphis
to Alexandria.
In 305 BCE,
Ptolemy becomes pharaoh
and moves the capital of Egypt
from Memphis to Alexandria.
His successor,
Ptolemy Philadelphus, removes
the body of Alexander
from Memphis
so that it can be buried in
the new capital.
It's possible Philadelphus uses
the sarcophagus of Nectanebo II
to transport the great conqueror
to Alexandria,
before laying his body
to rest in
a grand Macedonian tomb
at the heart of the city.
Finding his tomb would be one of
the most incredible and
earth-shattering archeological
discoveries ever.
Is Alexander the Great's
ultimate tomb in Alexandria?
Can a monumental structure on
the city's outskirts
reveal clues?
Alexandria,
the jewel of Egypt,
named after its founder,
Alexander the Great,
the Macedonian warrior king
who becomes pharaoh.
Arto Belekdanian
is on the hunt for Alexander's
tomb in Egypt's
ancient capital.
Ancient sources
tell us that the body
of Alexander the Great was moved
from Memphis to Alexandria
and buried somewhere
in the city.
He starts his mission
at a mysterious
white alabaster tomb on
the edge of Alexandria.
This tomb was excavated in 1907,
and it is believed to date
to the very dawn
of the Ptolemaic Period.
So we're talking Ptolemy I,
Ptolemy II, during whose reigns
is when the body of Alexander
was moved from Memphis
to Alexandria.
In its original form,
this large alabaster doorway
lies under a mound of earth,
a typical feature of
a Macedonian tomb.
The entrance leads to a burial
chamber for an important
Macedonian figure.
Could this be Alexander's
last resting place?
The burial chamber
is lost to history.
So Arto starts his investigation
in the entrance chamber.
Just looking at this
monument, you can tell that this
belongs to someone
immensely influential.
I mean, first of all, just
the simple size of it,
and the fact that it's made
of this beautiful alabaster
and monolithic,
massive blocks of it, as well.
To get alabaster of this
quality was a vast expense,
something that only royalty
could afford.
Arto compares the structure to
the entrance of
Alexander's father's tomb,
which is unearthed
in northern Greece.
We can tell that these are
done in the same tradition.
They are remarkably similar.
So we've got this doorway,
a facade, that leads into
the chambers inside,
and it's all under a mound.
The entrance has
the same layout as Alexander's
father's tomb.
And Arto believes it looks
identical on the outside, too.
This was not meant to be seen.
This would have been
underground, under the tumulus,
The hill.
Arto pieces together the clues.
What we have here
is a lavish tomb
that is done in a purely
Greco-Macedonian style,
and it dates to very early on in
the Ptolemaic period,
so Ptolemy I, Ptolemy II.
What that means is
this is a very strong
contender for
The tomb of Alexander
the Great in Alexandria.
But when archeologists search
for the larger burial chamber
that should connect to
the entrance chamber,
they find nothing.
Instead, they discover
a surprising feature.
Less than three feet
from the structure,
experts unearth
a well, built more
than 600 years
after Alexander's death.
What does it reveal
about the origin of the tomb?
The fact that
the alabaster tomb is
right here above the well
that is supposedly much
later in date has led some to
argue that the alabaster tomb
is not sitting
in its original location,
but rather that it was
moved here.
The evidence suggests
the tomb is moved from
the city center to where
it stands now.
This aligns remarkably with
historical sources, which state
that Alexander's first tomb
is only temporary before he is
moved to something more lavish.
What this means is
the alabaster tomb may very well
be the first tomb of Alexander
the Great in Alexandria.
Alexander views himself as a god
and son of the almighty
Greek deity, Zeus.
His successors promote
his God-King image in
a cult to legitimize their own
divine rule over Egypt.
To strengthen the dynastic
cult, Ptolemy IV Philopator
removes Alexander from
his tomb to place him in a new
royal monument called the Soma.
This grand edifice not only
contains the body of Alexander
but also the ashes of
the three first Ptolemaic kings.
This was a very clever PR move.
By doing so, Ptolemy IV
forged a link in
the public mind between
Alexander the Great
and his dynasty,
thus having the divinity
of Alexander the Great
reflect onto his own dynasty.
Even in death,
Alexander wields
significant power.
Ptolemy IV uses this connection
To the iconic ruler
to his advantage.
Where is the Soma, the final
resting place of Alexander?
Could clues in an ancient map
reveal the location of
Alexander's last mausoleum,
a structure so grand, it could
even rival one
of the Seven Wonders?
Alexander the Great is
buried in two temporary tombs
before he is finally laid to
rest in a grand mausoleum,
the Soma, in the center of
his capital city, Alexandria.
But its location is lost
from the history books.
Archaeologist Alicia Johnson
joins the search.
When you're on the hunt
for Alexander the Great,
you have to think like
a detective, you have to dig
through the pitfalls.
But in the end,
it's exciting, because
we are in the search
of a legend.
Alicia believes that the lavish
Soma lies somewhere
beneath modern Alexandria.
She begins her search
at Qaitbay Citadel,
a 15th century CE fort
located by Alexandria's
great harbor.
It gives her a spectacular
view across the ancient city.
Alexandria is
the largest city in antiquity.
Ancient texts describe
the great monuments
spread across the capital,
temples dedicated
to Greek and Egyptian gods,
vast palaces, a famed library.
And a majestic lighthouse
over the harbor.
Ptolemy IV reburies Alexander in
a grand mausoleum
somewhere in the city,
but the ancient city is all
buried beneath
modern Alexandria.
Where is Alexander buried?
The first clue comes from Roman
poet Lucan,
who describes the Soma.
"Though you preserve Alexander
in the consecrated grotto,
"and the ashes of the kings
rest beneath a loftily
"constructed edifice,
"though the dead Ptolemies
and their unworthy
"dynasty are covered by
indignant pyramids
and mausoleums..."
This could mean
Alexander's mausoleum has
a triangular
or pyramid-shaped roof.
And the clue ties in
with an intriguing
inscription left behind
by a Roman trader,
Julius Philosyrius.
As a trader,
he more than most likely
would have visited Alexandria,
and on his sarcophagus,
there's quite
an interesting inscription
in regards to the possible
location of
Alexander the Great.
The sarcophagus
shows a harbor scene
with a lighthouse on
the right... on the left,
a structure that resembles
the royal palace,
and in between the two,
a tall building with
a triangular-shaped roof,
just as the Soma is described
by Lucan.
Alicia wants to narrow down
the tomb's location
by comparing the inscription
on the sarcophagus to the known
location of ancient landmarks.
We are at the modern day
Qaitbay Citadel, which is
the location for where
the ancient lighthouse of
Alexandria was constructed.
The lighthouse of Alexandria is
a marvel of engineering,
one of the seven wonders
of the ancient world.
It stands up to 360 feet
and dominates the skyline
of Alexandria.
Alicia has identified
the first clue.
The Soma must lie between here
and the royal palace.
She examines further
written references.
A final clue comes
from the ancient Greek
author, Zenobius.
He claimed that the Soma was in
the center of the heart
of Alexandria.
And while it's not exactly
very specific,
we can refer back to ancient
maps to maybe be able to
consider where might Alexander
have been buried?
The clues lead Alicia to one of
the oldest roads that runs
through modern Alexandria.
We're right near
El Horreya, which is an ancient
road that has followed its way
for thousands of years.
El Horreya is
the principal road of
the ancient city, running east
to west through the center.
And it's really useful for me,
because it allows me to be
able to orientate myself when
evaluating and researching
ancient maps of the city.
Alicia investigates
a map drawn by Egyptian
cartographer, Mahmud Bey,
in the late 1800s.
It's one of the most
accurate maps we have
of ancient Alexandria.
Maps such as these help
us to be able to consider
where might ancient sites be
found in modern day locations.
Mahmud marks
the junction of El Horreya
and a second unnamed road as
the center of the ancient city.
The ancient crossroads must be
somewhere along the El Horreya,
the main road that still runs
through the heart of the city.
Legends say Alexander
designs his city
by marking out the boundaries
using barley flour.
Thousands of birds flock down
to eat the flour.
But Alexander's prophet
takes this as a good omen
that the city will
provide for its people.
The city borders
are said to take
the shape of a Macedonian
military cloak, and inside,
the planners lay out streets
in a series of grids.
At its heart,
the two main roads intersect to
form the most prestigious
crossroad of Alexandria.
Further up El Horreya,
Alicia stops at
a large crossroads.
The crossroads at the
heart of the city of Alexandria.
Logically speaking,
this might be
where Alexander the Great
is buried.
Today, very little of
the ancient city survives.
But all the clues suggest
Alexander's grand
mausoleum lies right here
beneath this modern crossroads.
The Roman texts
described the famous Soma
towering over the city for
over 600 years.
But by 390 CE,
this iconic monument
is never mentioned again.
It is wiped from history.
What happens
to him is a mystery.
Where had
Alexander the Great gone?
What happens to
Alexander's grand mausoleum?
Could the discovery of
2,000-year-old ruins
reveal what it looks like?
Alexander the Great,
one of history's most
enigmatic figures.
He builds one of the greatest
empires the world has
ever seen,
and at the age of just 32,
he dies.
He is buried in a grand
mausoleum in Alexandria,
where his tomb,
the Soma, vanishes from history.
What it looks like has been
a mystery
for thousands of years.
Investigator Andrew Chugg
is at the British Museum
in search
of clues to the design of
Alexander's mausoleum.
He begins his investigation
at statues found at
the ruins of one of the wonders
of the ancient world,
the mausoleum of Halicarnassus.
Here's a horse from
a tomb at Halicarnassus.
To give you an idea of
the scale of this tomb,
this is one of four horses
that stood
at the apex of its stepped
pyramidal roof.
Andrew believes
there is a connection
between the mausoleum
and Alexander's own tomb.
The clue again comes from
the Roman poet, Lucan.
The interesting point
here is that the poet Lucan,
in describing Alexander's tomb
in Alexandria, also calls it
Specifically a mausoleum.
So he's drawing a link
between Alexander's tomb
in Alexandria
and the spectacular tomb
of Mausolus in Halicarnassus.
The Mausoleum of
Halicarnassus is a towering
monument, built just 25 years
before Alexander dies,
built for King Mausolus
the Greek Kingdom, Caria,
whose name gives us the word
mausoleum to describe
a monumental tomb.
Can this monument unlock what
Alexander's tomb looks like?
Here is a statue
of King Mausolus
taken from his tomb,
the tomb that we call
the Mausoleum.
It was indeed
the very first mausoleum,
named after this king.
Philip IV, the Greek pharaoh who
builds Alexander's tomb
calls it a mausoleum.
The deliberate use of
the specific new word
suggests that
the buildings look alike.
So Alexander's tomb is
a grand, columned building,
which stands on top of
a great pedestal with
a pyramidal-shaped roof.
Ptolemy Philopator
was building a mausoleum,
not just for Alexander,
but also for his own ancestors.
He wanted to build
a quintessentially
Greek monument
In Alexandria to celebrate
them as Greek kings.
So that's probably why
he chose to use the mausoleum
at Halicarnassus as his model.
And there is strong evidence
Alexander saw the mausoleum at
Halicarnassus for himself.
In 367 BCE,
King Mausolus rules part of
the eastern Mediterranean from
his palace in Halicarnassus.
After a 24-year reign,
Mausolus dies,
leaving his wife,
Artemisia, heartbroken.
Inspired by nearby monuments,
she builds her husband
a grand tomb
that, over time,
takes on his name,
the Mausoleum.
Seventeen years later,
Alexander the Great
captures Halicarnassus.
The retreating Persians
set fire to the city,
but the great Mausoleum
is spared.
Halicarnassus is destroyed
in a series of earthquakes
in the Middle Ages.
But historical records talk of
its spectacular height.
Ancient sources indicate that
the mausoleum at Halicarnassus,
the original Mausoleum,
was about 45 meters high.
We don't have a specific
record of the height of
Alexander's tomb,
but I think we can imagine it
must have been at least on
the same scale.
Only the statues remain of
the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.
But remarkably,
the tomb that inspired it
is itself in the British Museum.
It is called
the Nereid Monument.
It is extraordinarily
well preserved,
so Andrew can examine
its features close up.
It has bands of
sculpture around its podium.
It has a roof supported
on an array of columns.
This is giving you
a good idea of the kind of
style that you would expect to
see in Alexander's tomb
in Alexandria.
Piecing together the clues,
it is now possible
to reconstruct
what Alexander's mausoleum
may look like.
For centuries,
Alexander the Great
lies in his glass coffin,
set within the sarcophagus
of Nectanebo II
and is placed inside a giant
mausoleum of Greek design,
the Soma.
According to ancient texts,
this monument stands at
the heart of a sacred burial
ground for Ptolemaic kings
in the royal quarter
of Alexandria,
A fitting final resting place
for the great warrior king.
This man had become a god.
Alexander's tomb would have
been an absolutely
spectacular monument,
probably greater
even than one of
the Seven Wonders,
the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
Alexander's mausoleum
is one of the most spectacular
buildings in the ancient world
and becomes a place of holy
pilgrimage for some of the most
important names in history.
A succession of notable
Romans... Julius Caesar,
Augustus Caesar, Hadrian.
Coming to worship at this
shrine is the only place that
you could see a tomb of
an actual God
in the Roman Empire.
Alexander's tomb
rivals the Seven Wonders
of the ancient world,
but it vanishes from history.
Could clues at an ancient
temple in Alexandria
reveal its fate?
Alicia Johnson
is searching for clues
to why no trace of Alexander
the Great's mausoleum,
the Soma, remains in
modern Alexandria.
She heads to the ruins of
the Serapeum,
an ancient temple in
the center of the city.
While it might not look like
much right now,
during the Ptolemaic time,
This was a fascinating
and fabulous temple complex.
In the west of
the city, on a hill,
stands the most magnificent
temple of Alexandria,
the Serapeum.
Inside, a statue of the Greek
Egyptian hybrid god, Serapis,
promoted by Ptolemy I
to unify his two peoples.
The cult of Serapis grows
even stronger in the Roman era
but comes to a violent end
when this temple is destroyed
in 391 CE.
What can this lost temple
reveal about Alexander's
missing tomb?
Alicia thinks the sphinxes at
the temple's entrance
hold the answer.
They were created with love
and attention to detail,
Because these monuments
weren't just statues.
They were deities,
they had power.
However, as you can see,
a part of the sphinx is missing.
The nose was cut off in
an attempt to remove the power
that was held within
these monuments.
Ancient Egyptians
believe that the nose
is the source of
the sculpture's power.
Cutting it off would cause
the spirit inside to
stop breathing.
So to remove the power of
one of these sphinxes by
cutting off their nose was
an attack on the ancient
Egyptian religion.
It was a deliberate act
of vandalism.
Alicia unearths evidence
of the identity of the vandal,
the man who could also be
responsible for the ultimate
fate of Alexander.
So what we have here is
a manuscript that dates back
to the fifth century.
But the figure
that's featured in
the manuscript is a man
named Theophilus.
Theophilus is the Christian
patriarch of Alexandria
At the end of
the 4th century CE.
What we see here in this image
is the Theophilus
standing on top
of a building that we can
recognize as the Serapeum...
In his hand,
holding the Christian Bible,
and stomping on the building.
It represents the complete
destruction of the pagan
religion that pre-existed
the incoming Christian ideology.
This image tells me
that the Serapeum
Was deliberately destroyed by
competing religious forces.
In 391 CE, Theophilus
orders Christians
to mock pagan objects
in a parade through Alexandria.
A fight breaks out, but
the Christians outnumber
the pagans and force them to
seek refuge in the Serapeum.
Theophilus receives orders
from Rome to pardon
The pagans and remove them
from their hideout.
Then, his soldiers and some
monks destroy the Serapeum
and other pagan buildings.
This was an incredibly
significant moment in
world history,
the destruction of the Serapeum,
and it starts to mark
the descent of
the pagan religion in
the transition into the new
Christian religion.
Considering Alexander
the Great was likely deified,
it is not surprising
that we can consider
the concept that maybe
Alexander the Great's mausoleum
was destroyed
in addition to other
pagan monuments.
The triumph of Christianity
in the Roman Empire is
devastating for pagan religions
across the ancient world.
The magnificent mausoleum
of Alexander the Great
and his tomb and mummified body
are unlikely to
have survived the catastrophe.
Alexander's holy tomb may have
been destroyed
by the Christians,
but clues suggest his body
might have survived.
Can startling
new evidence prove that
his body is swapped
for someone else?
Alexander the Great, one of
history's most celebrated
military commanders.
He dies at the age of just 32
and is buried in
a grand mausoleum,
which vanishes from history.
It's thought his body
is lost with his tomb.
But historian Andrew Chugg
has another theory.
It involves a surprising name
from history,
Saint Mark.
Saint Mark is
the author of the gospel
according to Saint Mark in
the New Testament.
He then goes to Egypt, where
he becomes the first patriarch
in Egypt, the founder of
Christianity in Egypt.
Conservator Ferdinando Forlati
excavates Saint Mark's tomb
in Venice in the 1960s.
He did a series of excavations,
and in the course of
those excavations,
he discovers a huge block of
what he initially thought was
Roman sculpture.
The beautifully carved
block depicts a lance
and a large shield with a star
emblem in the center.
That's the emblem
of Alexander's family.
We see that emblem on
the funeral casket
of his father, Philip.
It's very much the emblem that
we would expect to see on
the shield of Alexander
the Great.
It's a clue that makes
Andrew suspect the tomb
of Saint Mark could contain
the lost body of Alexander.
And he has more evidence
for this startling theory.
Saint Mark dies in Alexandria
in 68 CE,
but his tomb is not mentioned in
ancient literature until
centuries after his death.
This is around the same time
Alexander disappears from
the historical record.
And this coincidence extends to
the location of the tomb
of Saint Mark.
There's a medieval map,
which says that the body of
Saint Mark was discovered just
inside the eastern gate of
the medieval city.
That's a highly significant
location, because it
appears to have been
the central crossroads.
The central crossroads
is where Alexander's
famous mausoleum
is said to have been.
That means there's
a coincidence in place
as well as
the coincidence in time.
The chance discovery
of Saint Mark in
the location of Alexander's
mausoleum happens at
a suspicious time.
It's just when the worship of
non-Christian gods
is banned in Egypt and across
the Roman Empire.
Andrew believes
the body of Alexander
the Great is purposefully
re-identified.
There are probably a couple of
strong reasons
for relabeling the body of
Alexander as Saint Mark.
The first of them
is that he was a god
of the Greco-Roman pantheon,
and that was embarrassing
when paganism had
just been made illegal.
The Christians also needed
a great icon to be a focus for
the worship of Christianity
in Alexandria,
and it seems they didn't have
the body of Saint Mark,
because it had reputedly been
burnt in the 1st century AD.
Andrew suspects
Alexander lies in
the tomb of Saint Mark
for 300 years,
until he is taken to Venice
in 828 CE,
and the Basilica di San Marco,
where he lies to this day.
Experts still search
for the lost tomb
of Alexander the Great.
It is one of history's most
enduring mysteries.
He is buried first in Memphis
before his body
is moved to the capital city
of his empire, Alexandria.
He is later reburied
in the Soma,
a mausoleum comparable in size
and grandeur
To the Seven Wonders
of the ancient world.
Though his tomb
vanishes from history,
his body may survive.