Review: “Secrets of the Dead – Cleopatra’s Last Temple”

Despite the title, this show is about underwater archaeology in the Alexandria harbor.  The main object was to explore the remains of the temple of Isis that stood in the middle of the harbor.  It was built by Ptolemy XII and was destroyed by an earthquake in the reign of Claudius.  This has been a 30-year project by European underwater archaeologists.

Most interesting is that archaeologists brought all of the main structural elements out of the water; each column had broken in half and there were parts of the roof.  Then they  cleaned them from centuries of clams and mussels, measured and photographed and then put them back into the water!  Their thinking is that they are better preserved in the water than they would be when exposed to air, and they went back to the exact same places where they came from.

You can watch clips of this show on YouTube for free. The full episode can be found on PBS (paywall).

By: Daniel A Bronstein, Emeritus Professor, Michigan State University

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