A skull discovered in 1929 in The ruins of Ephesus in Türkiye has maintained an aura of mystery for almost 100 years: it was speculated that it could have corresponded to Cleopatra’s own sister, the famous last queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Now, finally, the secret of his identity has been revealed thanks to new anthropological analyses.
more than a skull, a great mystery
In 1929, a team led by Austrian archaeologist Josef Keil found a mysterious sarcophagus filled with water. while exploring the ruins of the Octagon of Ephesusa magnificent building located on the main street of the ancient city that served as a burial chamber.
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Remains of the Octagon of Ephesus.
Austrian Academy of Sciences. Austrian Archaeological Institute
Despite the lack of grave goods, what was found inside the sarcophagus were the remains of a skeleton, of which The skull was removed for analysis in Germanyand more specifically at the University of Vienna.
In 1953, through initial analysis, experts considered that, due to the location of the tomb and the physical characteristics of the individual, it could be the remains of a young woman, about 20 years old, who He may have belonged to the high aristocracy of antiquity.
In fact, in the city of Ephesus she was tragically murdered (and supposedly also buried). the sister of the rulers Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII, known as Arsinoe IValthough the location of his grave, as with that of his sister, remained unknown.
Furthermore, there is a suspicion that the Octagon of Ephesus was designed after the same model as the Lighthouse of Alexandria, a building built in Egypt during the Ptolemaic era.
All of this led researchers to think that They could find themselves facing a truly revealing discovery. Later, in 1982, the rest of his skeleton was recovered from Ephesus for further analysis.
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The skull from the Ephesus Octagon at the University of Vienna.
University of Vienna/Gerhard Weber
WHAT HAVE THE NEW ANALYZES DISCOVERED?
A multidisciplinary team led by anthropologist Gerhard Weber from the University of Vienna, composed of geneticists, dating specialists, orthodontists and archaeologists, has carried out a scientific analysis of the skull with modern technologies.
Specifically, its image has been digitized using computed tomography, and a genetic study has also been carried out using samples obtained from the base of the skull, the teeth, and other bones such as the femur.
These tests have helped determine several facts about this individual. On the one hand, the bone remains date between the year 36 and 205 BC, a period that coincides with the date of the death of Arsinoe, murdered in 41 BC. On the other hand, however, the age this individual was at death I was between 11 and 14 years old. Finally, the researchers were greatly surprised when they discovered through genetic studies the presence of the Y chromosome, distinctive of the male sex. Thus, the theory of the discovery of Cleopatra’s famous sister was sadly discarded.
So who was in the octagon tomb of Ephesus? The findings of this study published in the journal Scientific Reportsalthough they are interesting and revealing, they also They open new questions that will require further investigation.
His identity remains to be discovered and, however, thanks to the study we know that he is a very young individual, probably of Roman origin, and that suffered from some pathology or growth disorder: His skull had an asymmetrical shape, and the upper jaw was poorly developed, characteristics of genetic syndromes such as Treacher-Collins.
