"They about to wake the mummies": Internet skeptical as archeologists reportedly discover Egyptian Cleopatra tomb

Kathleen Martinez, an archeologist from the University of Santo Domingo, and her team have uncovered a tunnel that could lead to Cleopatra's tomb. Martinez has been in search of the tomb for the past twenty years, until the discovery of a 1,305-meter-long tunnel, marking a pivotal breakthrough.

Martinez told CNN that the excavation uncovered a sacred lake, among other things.

"The excavation revealed a huge religious center with three sanctuaries, a sacred lake, more than 1,500 objects, busts, statues, golden pieces, a huge collection of coins portraying Alexander the Great, Queen Cleopatra and the Ptolemies."

Images inside the tunnel (image via Kathleen Martinez-Nazar/Taposiris Magna Project)

Though archeologists are celebrating this discovery, the internet seems a tad worried about what could come from the event. One user, @Dreylo8, took to Twitter to voice his concerns about how this unearthing could "wake the mummies."

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Netizens worried about near-discovery of Cleopatra's tomb

Kathleen Martinez and her team found a 1,305-meter (4,281-foot) long tunnel 43 feet below the ground in November 2022. The search for the Egyptian Queen's lost tomb began in 2005. Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiques announced that the Egyptian-Dominican archeological mission discovered the tunnel under the Taposiris Magna ruins near Alexandria, Egypt.

Kathleen inside the discovered tunnel (image via Kathleen Martinez-Nazar/Taposiris Magna Project)

This major breakthrough has been celebrated by historians, but since the news came out, netizens have found this to be a cause for concern. Some link the tomb to unnatural occurrences like mummies, but most are concerned with "grave robbing." Some shared that archeologists should "leave her in peace" and that everyone deserves a "dignified death."

While most wonder what could occur after the potential unearthing of the tomb, many have expressed their joy over Martinez's discovery. They claim that the Egyptian Queen once said that no man would ever discover her tomb, and lauded Martinez, a woman, for potentially discovering it.

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Archeologists have been in search of Cleopatra's tomb for centuries

The Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra, was said to have been alive between 69 B.C. and 30 B.C. and is credited as the final ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt before the Roman Empire took over. She is most recognized for her wit and beauty.

According to popular belief, when her husband, Roman General Mark Antony, died in her arms in 30 B.C., the Queen ended her own life by allowing a venomous asp to bite her, a moment that has been immortalized in art and literature.

This has led historians to believe that the mausoleum she is buried in could be discovered, especially since King Tutankhamun's (an Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled over 3000 years ago) tomb was discovered in 1922.

Harry Burton and Howard Carter at King Tut's tomb (image via Getty/Griffith Institute)

Excavations at the site have been eventful and complicated due to the frequency of earthquakes in that area. Much of the temple and the area around it have been damaged and flooded by water that seeps in from the Mediterranean sea. Parts of the newly discovered tunnel are underwater.

Despite that, the team has been able to get a sense of the tunnel's dimensions and believes that it served as an aqueduct used to provide water to people who lived in the ancient city.

Previous excavations by Kathleen and her team have uncovered mummies that were buried over 2000 years ago (during Cleopatra's reign), coins bearing Cleopatra's and Alexander the Great's names, and statues of the Egyptian goddess Isis.