A new study reveals that a skeleton discovered in the 1st century BC in the Octagon mausoleum in Ephesus was not Arsinoe IV, Cleopatra's half-sister, as previously believed. The remains actually belong to a young boy aged between 11 and 14, uncovering a century-old mystery and raising new questions about Arsinoe IV's fate.
Nearly 100 years ago, an ancient Egyptian skeleton was discovered in the Octagon , a breathtaking eight-sided mausoleum in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus . For decades, scientists have identified the skeleton as belonging to Arsinoe IV, the ill-fated half-sister of Cleopatra VII, one of Egypt's most renowned queens. However, a groundbreaking new analysis conducted by researchers in Austria reveals a 'big surprise' – and a remarkable case of mistaken identity.
The results indicate that the remains actually belonged to a boy, aged between 11 and 14 at the time of his death, sometime between 205 and 36 BC. The boy suffered from 'pathological developmental disorders,' including an 'underdeveloped upper jaw,' which would have made chewing difficult, experts explain. Despite this, researchers know little about the boy's identity, and it also means the remains of Cleopatra's half-sister are still missing. 'The individual buried in the Octagon was not Arsinoe IV, and the search for her remains should continue,' state the academics from the University of Vienna. 'The fate of the body of Arsinoe IV, who reportedly was killed in 41 BC in Ephesus, remains open.' In 1929, a skull was unearthed in the ruins of Ephesus – and was subsequently identified as that of Arsinoe IV, Cleopatra's murdered half-sister. But a new study now reveals this to be a case of mistaken identity. Arsinoe IV was murdered in Ephesus around 41 BCE at the instigation of Mark Antony, Cleopatra's lover.The incredible saga dates back to 1929 when Austrian archaeologist Dr. Josef Keil and his colleagues found a sarcophagus completely filled with water in the ruins of the once magnificent Octagon. Dating back to the late 1st century BC, the Octagon was a monumental eight-sided white marble mausoleum, approximately 40 feet (13 meters) high. Dr. Keil – who took the skull for analysis but left the rest of the body – concluded it was that of 'a very distinguished person,' probably a 20-year-old woman. Further studies in the early 1950s and a study of the skull and the rest of the body in the 1980s also concluded it was that of a female. But archaeologists continued to speculate about the identity of this 'obviously notable person,' as well as the reliability of the conclusions. Rival experts stated that evidence linking the bones to Arsinoe had been largely circumstantial, while even the researcher who found them admitted they'd been handled too many times to get a reliable DNA test result. To provide a definitive answer, the University of Vienna team performed morphological, genetic, and dating analyses of the cranium – the part of the skull that directly houses the brain. They also conducted further analyses of bone samples from a femur (the thigh bone) and a rib of the skeleton. Geneticists found a match between the skull and existing samples of the femur – showing the body and skull in the tomb belonged to the same person. They also used carbon-14 dating, a scientific method that can accurately determine the age of organic materials as old as 60,000 years. Carbon 14 dating of the cranium revealed a most likely time range between 205 and 36 BC – so within the traditionally-given date of death of Arsinoë IV (41 BC). But what the team found next was what lead study author Gerhard Weber described as a 'big surprise'. 'In repeated tests, the skull and femur both clearly showed the presence of a Y chromosome – in other words, a male,' he said. Images of the dental roots and the still-developing skull base confirmed the boy was still in his puberty and was around 11 to 14 years old
Arsinoe IV Cleopatra VII Ephesus Octagon Ancient Egypt Archaeology DNA Carbon-14 Dating Mistaken Identity History Mystery
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