A radar survey of the temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria in Egypt, was completed last month. The radar revealed three possible areas of interest where a tomb may be located. These locations have been passed to the archaeological team who will begin excavation of the targets next week. The most important recent development at Taposiris Magna has been the discovery of a large, previously unknown cemetery outside the temple enclosure.

After analyzing details and symbols of the crown worn by Arsinoë and reinterpreting Egyptian reliefs, Swedish researchers are questioning Egypt's traditional male-dominated royal line. They suggest that Queen Arsinoë II (316-270 B.C.) was the first female pharaoh belonging to Ptolemy's family.

The newfound black granite statue-which stands about 1.8 meters without its head-is thought to be of King Ptolemy IV, because an unattached cartouche carved of the same type of stone and bearing his name was found near the figure's base. In addition to the headless statue, the Egyptian-Dominican dig team found an inscription, written in Greek and hieroglyphics, in the foundation deposits of one of the temple's corners.

Cleopatra did not die from a snake bite but a lethal drug cocktail that included opium and hemlock, according to Christoph Schaefer, German historian and professor at the University of Trier.

A statement from Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities says the headless statue was discovered at the temple of Taposiris Magna, west of the coastal city of Alexandria. The head of the Council of Antiquities says the statue could belong to King Ptolemy IV. Hawass says it represents the traditional shape of an ancient Egyptian king wearing a collar and kilt.

Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered the temple of Queen Berenike as well as 600 Ptolemaic statues in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria in what may be the first traces of the ancient city’s royal quarters, the Supreme Council of Antiquities said.

Egyptian archeologists will carry out new explorations in October to search for the tombs of Cleopatra and Mark Antony at Tabusiris Magna, the head of Egypt's Higher Council of Antiquities said.

An Ancient Egyptian lexicon has been identified on a papyrus from the Halle/Leipzig collection. This lexicon in three columns assigns precious metals, minerals, trees and animals to gods and is dated to the Ptolemaic era.

Archaeologists from Egypt and the Dominican Republic have unearthed a bronze statue of the goddess Aphrodite and other artifacts during excavations inside the Taposiris Magna temple on Egypt's Mediterranean coast. Also among the finds were the alabaster head of a Queen Cleopatra statue, a mask believed to belong to Mark Anthony and a headless statue from the Ptolemic era.

Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, has started searching for the entrance to Cleopatras tomb at the site of a temple, the Taposiris Magna, 28 miles west of Alexandria. Hawass has discovered a 400ft tunnel beneath the temple containing clues that the supposedly beautiful queen may lie beneath. “We’ve found tunnels with statues of Cleopatra and many coins bearing her face, things you wouldn’t expect in a typical temple,” he said.