Presumed Sister of Cleopatra: Myth Debunked by Viennese Researchers

The analyses of ancient DNA by Viennese researchers point to an eleven to fourteen-year-old "young Roman" who did not originate from Egypt and suffered from a severe illness, as was stated on Friday.

The skull was found by the Austrian archaeologist Josef Keil in the former ancient metropolis now located in western Turkey. The location of the find alone laid a foundation for later speculation: the complete skeleton was found in an octagonal mausoleum reminiscent of the Egyptian architecture of the time - an "Octagon" - on one of the most important procession streets in the centre of the former city, where excavations by the Austrian Institute of Archaeology (ÖAI) of the Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) have been taking place more or less annually for over 130 years. However, Keil only lifted the skull, which found its way into the anthropological archive there via Berlin after his appointment to the University of Vienna.

"Let Facts Speak Instead of Rumours"

Researchers informed about their new findings, now presented in the scientific journal "Scientific Reports", at the same place on Friday. "We have now let facts speak instead of rumours," said University of Vienna anthropologist Gerhard Weber. Because there were plenty of those over the decades: Keil had already speculated about "a very distinguished personality", probably a woman around 20 years old. Similar arguments were made in a publication in the 1950s and an analysis of the skeleton from 2009. Just last year, researchers Ernst Rudolf and Peter Scherrer published a book titled "The Octagon of Arsinoë IV in Ephesus".

The historical facts, according to which Arsinoë IV was first exiled to the Artemis sanctuary of Ephesus after losing a power struggle with her much more famous older sister Cleopatra and then murdered around 41 BC at the instigation of Marcus Antonius, Cleopatra's lover, also fit into this enticing picture. All this fuelled the hypothesis from 1990, which has now been refuted by the team around Weber and ÖAI archaeologist Martin Steskal. The long-time excavation director in Ephesus, Sabine Ladstätter, who died in 2024, also contributed to the publication.

"Indiana Jones Story" with "Young Roman" in the Lead Role

The old bones - the remaining bones were also recovered in 1982 - were now examined at the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna using the latest scientific methods: The new dating - between the years 36 and 205 BC - would have still fit well with the year of Arsinoë's death. To the surprise of the extensive research team, however, both the genetic material from the skull and the examined femur showed "clearly in repeated attempts the presence of a Y-chromosome - thus a man, a 'young Roman'", according to Weber. The "Indiana Jones story" that began in 1929 thus finds a provisional end in its often-told form.

Indeed, this "great drama of antiquity", as the excavation director in Ephesus, Martin Steskal from the ÖAI, expressed it, still awaits final clarification - if this can be achieved at all. The story about the remains in the octagon is not yet fully told. Because in addition to the fact that at that time only very honorable persons were buried within the city, there is no grave inscription and it is highly unusual "that such a grave monument was created for such a young child", much is still open. Steskal: "We are back at the beginning of the discussion." Although they do not want to make more or less wild speculations now, a connection to Arsinoë could still exist. Perhaps, for example, a wrong skeleton was placed in the mausoleum erected decades after the princess's death.

"A Significant Growth Anomaly"

Apart from assumptions, however, some information can be made about the young man in the sarcophagus today: The genetic analysis suggests a descent of the boy or teenager from the Italian mainland or from Sardinia. The evaluation of the detailed scans of the skull suggest some health problems of the unknown young man, who must have had a high social status due to the place of his burial.

A bone seam on the underside of the skull, which usually only fuses around the age of 65, already appeared closed. Accordingly, the two halves of the skull grew differently. The upper jaw also appears underdeveloped and parts of the face must have been noticeably shaped, which also suggests problems with chewing like the different wear of the two teeth remaining in the skull. According to Weber, this is a "significant growth anomaly". The reason for these problems could have been a pronounced vitamin D deficiency or a genetic disease, according to the scientists. Further investigations could clarify, for example, whether the boy could have suffered from "Treacher-Collins syndrome", explained the anthropologist.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.