Archaeologists discovered a tomb in Egypt that they believe could belong to Alexander the Great.
Is this the tomb of Alexander the Great — the world’s most celebrated gay warrior? Archeologists in Egypt believe that the remains could, in fact, be those of Alexander the Great. As you read this article, the archaeologists that discovered the tomb are preparing to open a 10-foot-long sarcophagus, which could contain his remains. The sarcophagus dates back to the early Ptolemaic period, which started after Alexander’s death in 323 BC. The tomb was discovered during construction, and experts believe the contents of the sarcophagus have been undisturbed since its burial.
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“I’ve had calls about this all day,” Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the government’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, told the New York Times. “People are saying it might contain Alexander or Cleopatra or Ramses. They don’t know what they are talking about.” If it’s any of the three, this will be the most significant discovery since the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922.
The burial site was discovered in Alexandria, where the legendary leader may have been buried more than 2,000 years ago. Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC, and throughout his life, he commanded enormous armies and helped secure the empire.
According to the Daily Telegraph, archeologists also discovered a bust in the tomb. The statue, which is made from alabaster, is damaged; its features disintegrated over time. Although the identity of the person who inspired the sculpture has eroded, they believe the answer is inside the sarcophagus.
Leading Egyptologist and former antiquities minister, Zahi Hawass, told the Daily Telegraph that the coffin “should belong to someone important, it is a granite sarcophagus.”
Zawass continued, “For someone to bring granite from Aswan [600 miles south] means he would have had to have been rich.”
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According to historians, Alexander the Great married three times during his life. But, many believe he also had a same-sex affair with his companion and bodyguard, Hephaestion. Although there is no record of Alexander being gay, many scholars argue that he was likely bisexual.
