0:00:12 > 0:00:18Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt - the most famous woman in history.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23We know her as the legendary lover who used power and beauty to seduce
0:00:23 > 0:00:27two of Rome's greatest leaders - Julius Caesar
0:00:27 > 0:00:30and Marc Antony.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35But there was a darker side to this legend, the forgotten story of a cold-hearted killer.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42No! No!
0:00:44 > 0:00:50Over the past 2,000 years, this dark side of Cleopatra has disappeared.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58But now her trail has led here, to Ephesus.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04A vast Roman city, in what we now call Turkey.
0:01:04 > 0:01:10In a 2,000-year-old tomb, scientists have uncovered the skeleton of a young woman.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14They believe she was a murder victim.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23She died because she dared to cross someone even more powerful than herself...
0:01:25 > 0:01:29..Her own sister, none other than Cleopatra.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Could this skeleton be the first forensic evidence
0:01:36 > 0:01:37of Cleopatra's story?
0:01:39 > 0:01:44This is a story of power, lust and sibling rivalry..
0:01:47 > 0:01:51..That takes us on a journey to two of the great wonders of the ancient world.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56What's inside this tomb reveals Cleopatra
0:01:56 > 0:01:59as you've never seen her before.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08This is the portrait of a killer.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Our journey starts here, in Turkey.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29In the 1920s, archaeologists were exploring a tomb here
0:02:29 > 0:02:31in the heart of Ephesus,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35once a glorious Roman capital ten times the size of Pompeii.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42In a sarcophagus filled with water, they found human remains.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51The skeleton was small, with thin bones and a slight frame.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55They appeared to be the remains of a young woman.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02But the custom here was to bury the dead outside the city walls.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07In 500 years, there had only been four exceptions, and all of those
0:03:07 > 0:03:09were men of great importance.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13So who was she, and what was she doing here?
0:03:15 > 0:03:19The archaeologists had no idea who they'd found, or her importance,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21and they resealed the sarcophagus.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32The identity of the body remained a mystery,
0:03:32 > 0:03:37until archaeologist Dr Hilke Thur was drawn to the forgotten tomb
0:03:37 > 0:03:41while excavating Roman remains nearby.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46In the 20 years she'd worked at Ephesus,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48she'd never seen anything like it.
0:03:48 > 0:03:54A mysterious, octagonal tomb on the most important street in the city -
0:03:54 > 0:03:57the street of the heroes.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00She was determined to find an answer to the riddle.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Hilke decided to enter the tomb.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09It would be a momentous decision.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12- So, Hilke, is this the entrance to the tomb?- Yes, this is the entrance.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14And I can go in here. It's safe?
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Yes, yes, yes, yes. I think so.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23'The chance that the skeleton would still be there
0:04:23 > 0:04:25'nearly a century later seemed remote.
0:04:27 > 0:04:28'But what she uncovered
0:04:28 > 0:04:31'would take her on an extraordinary detective story
0:04:31 > 0:04:35'to the dark heart of the legend of Cleopatra.'
0:04:35 > 0:04:37Right.
0:04:37 > 0:04:38What's that?
0:04:38 > 0:04:42- It's a barrel-vaulted chamber. - Nice workmanship.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44It's beautifully made, isn't it?
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Lovely masonry. It's just held together by its own weight. Wow.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54What did you see? Just describe what the scene was like.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59I was very excited and I crawled through this small entrance
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- and then came in and I saw the bones.- Right.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07The long bones from the legs,
0:05:07 > 0:05:11and they nearly were partly in the one niche and partly
0:05:11 > 0:05:12in the other niche.
0:05:13 > 0:05:20I immediately thought we now have at least a skeleton of the owner of this grave chamber.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22How fantastic, you know - there was
0:05:22 > 0:05:26someone in here obviously of some kind of significance, and to then
0:05:26 > 0:05:31immediately wonder, you know, who? Why was somebody worth this?
0:05:31 > 0:05:33What was their story? It's great!
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Determined to discover the identity of this mysterious skeleton,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Hilke had little to go on.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44It was incomplete.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48She decided to search ancient records
0:05:48 > 0:05:53for a woman important enough to be buried in such an unusual tomb.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00In the Roman accounts, she found a reference to the horrific murder
0:06:00 > 0:06:04of Princess Arsinoe - Cleopatra's sister.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Please, please go in, come! Come this way.
0:06:06 > 0:06:12A forgotten but bloody chapter in the legend of Cleopatra.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15In the city of Ephesus,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17at the behest of Cleopatra,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21Marc Antony had her sister dragged
0:06:21 > 0:06:29from the temple of Artemis and there, in this holy place, the young Arsinoe
0:06:29 > 0:06:30was put to death.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42These words, by Roman historian Cassius Dio, describing the
0:06:42 > 0:06:48murder of Cleopatra's sister, were written 300 years after the event.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51So was it just a legend, or the truth?
0:06:55 > 0:06:59If Cassius Dio was right, and if Hilke had indeed stumbled
0:06:59 > 0:07:03on the bones of Arsinoe, then this was a huge find.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08The first-ever remains of anyone
0:07:08 > 0:07:13from Cleopatra's family - proof not only of a shocking murder, but also
0:07:13 > 0:07:18the first forensic evidence that Cleopatra was a ruthless killer.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27If this was Arsinoe, how did she end up
0:07:27 > 0:07:31in a tomb 500 miles from Egypt, where she was born?
0:07:31 > 0:07:33To find the answers,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37I need to cross the Mediterranean, to Cleopatra's homeland.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59We're in Egypt, at the magnificent temple of Karnak.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03By the time Cleopatra came to the throne, this place
0:08:03 > 0:08:04was already 2,000 years old.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08The golden age of Egypt was past.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12Its future was hanging in the balance.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28In 51BC, Cleopatra's father died.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33He had four children.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37He left the throne to be shared equally between his eldest son,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Ptolemy XIII,
0:08:39 > 0:08:44and his eldest daughter, Cleopatra, aged 18.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Also, and in the custom of Egyptian royal families,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56both rulers - brother and sister - were to be married to each other.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05But behind the scenes they were a family divided, and there was
0:09:05 > 0:09:09one issue above all that split the brothers and sisters - the new and
0:09:09 > 0:09:12emerging superpower of the age...
0:09:12 > 0:09:13Rome.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25The Roman Empire was expanding across the Middle East,
0:09:25 > 0:09:31and for the first time, Roman troops had established a foothold in Egypt.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37So, the ruling dynasty here had a big decision to make.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42Should they try and resist, or make some kind of alliance with Rome?
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Both strategies involved a sizeable risk.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49By siding with the Romans, they might provoke open rebellion
0:09:49 > 0:09:53in Egypt, but resisting the Romans could involve going to war
0:09:53 > 0:09:58with the most powerful military machine on earth.
0:10:02 > 0:10:08Cleopatra wanted to be Rome's friend, but her brother Ptolemy XIII
0:10:08 > 0:10:13disagreed, and he was supported by their sister, Arsinoe.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17They believed it was time for Egypt to stand up to Rome.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21The family argument rapidly got out of hand.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24It so happened
0:10:24 > 0:10:28that the King of Egypt, whose name was Ptolemy,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30and who was but a boy at the time,
0:10:30 > 0:10:37was engaged in a vicious war with his own sister and queen, Cleopatra.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43With the support of those loyal to him,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47the boy king expelled Cleopatra from the kingdom and sent her away.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01Cleopatra was banished from the Egyptian capital, Alexandria.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03She found herself in exile.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08But Cleopatra wasn't finished yet.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12There was one sure way to get back at Ptolemy,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14and that was with the help of Rome.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Cleopatra was her father's daughter,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21and he was a friend of Julius Caesar.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24He had written in the royal will that if there was conflict
0:11:24 > 0:11:28over the succession, Rome should be the impartial judge.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40In 48BC, Caesar arrived in Egypt with a small force.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44He soon found himself mediating in the family feud.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Cleopatra knew she had to get to Caesar before her brother
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and she had one key advantage over him.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Cleopatra decided to seduce Caesar -
0:12:03 > 0:12:07a move which would have fatal consequences for her brothers
0:12:07 > 0:12:10and for her sister, Arsinoe.
0:12:13 > 0:12:172,000 years later, it's time to test the astonishing theory
0:12:17 > 0:12:21that this might be the skeleton of Princess Arsinoe.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Armed with state-of-the-art forensic science, Dr Fabian Kanz
0:12:28 > 0:12:30is brought in to examine the skeleton.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37If the bones from the octagonal tomb are male,
0:12:37 > 0:12:39the theory will collapse at the first hurdle.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48So, Fabian, what can you tell from a first analysis of the skeleton?
0:12:48 > 0:12:54From the first analysis, I think, or I'm sure, that it was a female.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58I can show you for comparison from other skeletons.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Two pelvics, one from a male and one from a female.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03Oh, right, well you can, yes,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06clearly that's a much bigger space there, isn't it?
0:13:06 > 0:13:09And so the female pelvis has, well, basically got room for a baby.
0:13:09 > 0:13:15Yes. Right. And if you take the pelvic bone from the skeleton
0:13:15 > 0:13:20from the octagon, you can see it's a wide angle and so
0:13:20 > 0:13:24from the morphological point of view, it must have been a female.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26OK, so it's a woman.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32'But can Fabian discover anything else from the bones?'
0:13:32 > 0:13:35The next, after the sex, what you try to establish is the...
0:13:35 > 0:13:41age at death and in this case, you can see on the long bones that
0:13:41 > 0:13:44they are still not completely grown,
0:13:44 > 0:13:50because the epiphysis and the diathesis are not fused together.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55So the bones start out in pieces and then gradually grow to become one.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Yes, they grow in this gap.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59I show it to you with a...
0:13:59 > 0:14:06fully-developed adult skeleton, where even this gap is completely gone.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Right. Yes, that's quite clear, isn't it?
0:14:10 > 0:14:11Yes.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15So this skeleton here is female and...
0:14:15 > 0:14:17how young?
0:14:17 > 0:14:19I would say...
0:14:19 > 0:14:22between 15 and 17, maybe 18.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24So just a youngster.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30We also know Arsinoe was Cleopatra's younger sister,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34and that Cleopatra was 18 when she came to the throne.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37So this too fits with Hilke's theory.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46So the bones are the right age and sex to be Arsinoe.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52But is the skeleton from the right period?
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Next, Fabian carbon dates the bones.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01The tests show this is a body from the period between 200BC and 20BC.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05I think this is striking,
0:15:05 > 0:15:10because the carbon dating was consistent with being Arsinoe.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15The carbon dating too matches the dates of the Cleopatra story...
0:15:15 > 0:15:16And there's more.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19What about just the general appearance of it?
0:15:19 > 0:15:23You know, what does the skeleton as a whole suggest?
0:15:23 > 0:15:28It's very delicate. It's very thin.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33So it's very...do you mean it's of a small, slightly-built person?
0:15:33 > 0:15:36- Yes.- A petite person? - A petite person, yes.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41So our skeleton belongs to a young female of slender frame.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51History suggests that Arsinoe's older sister Cleopatra was slim too.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01Famously, she used her size to smuggle herself back from exile
0:16:01 > 0:16:03into the Royal Palace.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Here's what the Roman writer Plutarch has to say.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10"Cleopatra sailed into Alexandria in a little skiff
0:16:10 > 0:16:13"and landed close to the palace just as it was getting dark and
0:16:13 > 0:16:15"she was able to enter undetected.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19"She rolled herself up in a bed sack tied with a thick chord,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22"and had it carried indoors, to Caesar.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34"In this way, she was already in Caesar's bed, alone with
0:16:34 > 0:16:37"him in his quarters, ready to reveal herself at the moment
0:16:37 > 0:16:40"it would have the most impact."
0:16:42 > 0:16:45It reveals the clear and calculating mind of Cleopatra - a woman able
0:16:45 > 0:16:50and willing to do whatever was required to get her what she wanted.
0:16:50 > 0:16:56Caesar was 52 years old - she was only 22.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06The story of Cleopatra's seduction of Caesar is at the heart
0:17:06 > 0:17:12of her romantic legend, but it was also a calculated act of betrayal.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Others have written long before I that her hair was mussed with so
0:17:29 > 0:17:34deft a touch as to give the air that she had been tearing at it.
0:17:36 > 0:17:42Her face, the picture of sorrow, and yet not a tear had been spilled.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49And how she pleaded to the Roman leader - "Mighty Caesar,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51"if birth count for aught..."
0:17:51 > 0:17:54I have been driven from my father's throne.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58I shall be in exile forever
0:17:58 > 0:18:03unless your guiding hand restores me to my rightful destiny,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07and therefore I, a queen, beg at your feet.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15Hearing her speak but a few words, Caesar was
0:18:15 > 0:18:21instantly captivated, such that he spent the whole night with her
0:18:21 > 0:18:24in infamy.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30By getting into bed with Caesar,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Cleopatra was in effect stabbing her brothers
0:18:33 > 0:18:36and her sister Arsinoe in the back.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Not expecting to see his sister within the palace,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47the boy king was filled with wrath.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54He tore his diadem from his head and cast it to the ground
0:18:54 > 0:18:59before rushing out to his people, crying out that he had been betrayed.
0:19:02 > 0:19:08The young king felt Cleopatra had sold out to Rome, leaving him and
0:19:08 > 0:19:10his country to pay the price.
0:19:17 > 0:19:22In modern day Ephesus, Fabian is still working with an incomplete skeleton.
0:19:25 > 0:19:32Last summer, he decided to go back into the tomb, with a slim hope of finding new evidence.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34He struck lucky.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37In this niche over the door to the grave chamber,
0:19:37 > 0:19:39there have been some bones.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42It turned out that they're human
0:19:42 > 0:19:46bones, and that they belong to the individual from the grave chamber.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53The chance to find additional bones in this grave
0:19:53 > 0:19:56was nearly nothing, I think.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Yes, it was a great day.
0:19:58 > 0:19:59I couldn't believe it.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06So now the skeleton is nearly complete,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08but there is one big problem.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12The most important part of the skeleton remains missing...
0:20:12 > 0:20:15The skull.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19Well here, at least, our modern day archaeologist, Hilke Thur,
0:20:19 > 0:20:21found an answer in the archives.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27In the 1920s, the skull had been taken from Turkey back to Germany.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31It was lost in the chaos of the Second World War.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33But before its disappearance,
0:20:33 > 0:20:37an archaeologist had recorded its dimensions.
0:20:38 > 0:20:44Cryptically, he revealed another clue as to the identity of the tomb.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48The skull, long and with a low forehead,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52reminded him of others he'd seen... In Egypt!
0:20:58 > 0:21:03By a stroke of luck, his precise notes, photos and measurements
0:21:03 > 0:21:05of the skull survived.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Using the latest scientific technology,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10a world-renowned British facial reconstruction team
0:21:10 > 0:21:14believe they can use this evidence to rebuild the skull
0:21:14 > 0:21:16in virtual reality.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19Well, this has been a challenge but it's been quite interesting to take
0:21:19 > 0:21:24in these two dimensional images and recreate a 3D model, within
0:21:24 > 0:21:27the planes created by the images.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31And we can take a template skull of a similar age,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35sex and ethnicity into this space and then alter that to fit
0:21:35 > 0:21:39the morphology - the shape that you can see of the skull on the images.
0:21:41 > 0:21:47So what might the 3D reconstruction reveal about the identity of its owner?
0:21:49 > 0:21:53The eye sockets are quite large in relation to the upper face,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56and that's something that's quite common in children.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00It's also something that's common in young females, but I
0:22:00 > 0:22:05think proportionally, the cranium suggests this is a young adult.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09The virtual skull confirms Fabian's findings that
0:22:09 > 0:22:14this belongs to a young female, and so perhaps our Princess Arsinoe.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21If this is her, can the skull tell us anything about her looks?
0:22:21 > 0:22:28Well, it's difficult to call a skull beautiful, but certainly it's symmetrical, it's balanced, it's
0:22:28 > 0:22:31got quite delicate features, and those are all things
0:22:31 > 0:22:34you would associate with a beautiful face in a woman.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38So far, the age and proportions of the skull are consistent
0:22:38 > 0:22:41with what's known about Arsinoe.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44But we can now go one stage further.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49Using the shape of the skull and the bite of the upper jaw,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53the team can estimate the shape of the lower jaw,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56recreating the mouth and muscles on the face.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01We all have the same muscles in our face,
0:23:01 > 0:23:05and they all have exactly the same origins and attachment points,
0:23:05 > 0:23:09but it's just the proportions of the skull that make a different face shape.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16We can then look at facial feature details, so we can
0:23:16 > 0:23:20work the prominence and position of the eyeballs,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23and then we can put on big structures like the neck,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27because we can see where the neck muscles attach.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31We can look at the bones on the edge of the nasal aperture and
0:23:31 > 0:23:35the nasal root here between the eyes to tell us about the prominence
0:23:35 > 0:23:37and width and shape of the nose.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43She had a very prominent nasal root, kind of like
0:23:43 > 0:23:48an ancient Greek sculpture - that kind of classical nose shape.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52She's got quite a distinctive nose, which is very straight,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56and I think it's something that we now find aesthetically pleasing,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58it's a beautiful feature.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01So the owner of the skull was young and classically beautiful.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09If this is Arsinoe, it ties in with ancient accounts of her sister
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Cleopatra as a beautiful queen.
0:24:15 > 0:24:192,000 years ago, back in Egypt, Cleopatra's looks may have conquered
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Caesar, but sex with the Roman was seen as treason.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Troops loyal to her brother and sister took up arms
0:24:36 > 0:24:40and besieged the palace in which Caesar had made his headquarters.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49War besets Caesar on every side!
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Missiles fell upon the palace and battered the roofs.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12To prevent Arsinoe and her brother, the rightful king,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15leading a loyalist uprising, Caesar took them both hostage.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26Caesar rushed from one hall of the palace to the next,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29dragging all the while the king by his side.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33He took some consolation in holding the boy hostage.
0:25:33 > 0:25:34If he could not return the fight
0:25:34 > 0:25:38with firebrands and missiles of his own, then at least he could hurl at
0:25:38 > 0:25:42the Egyptians the head of their own king!
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Barricaded inside the palace complex,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Caesar sent for reinforcements,
0:25:48 > 0:25:50but they would take weeks to arrive by sea.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59Caesar and Cleopatra took desperate measures.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01To draw the Egyptians away from
0:26:01 > 0:26:04the palace, the Roman general set fire to the ships in the harbour.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09The flames, in turn, set fire to the city.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16But Caesar's firebrands fell on the houses around the harbour,
0:26:16 > 0:26:22the wind fanning the flames until they streaked across the roofs as fast as meteors.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25This inferno drew the Egyptians away from the palace
0:26:25 > 0:26:27as they rushed to rescue the city.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Caesar did not waste a moment.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36Seizing the opportunity, Caesar led his bodyguard to the mouth of the harbour.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43There, towering up from the centre of an island
0:26:43 > 0:26:47to warn approaching ships of rocks and reefs, was the seventh
0:26:47 > 0:26:51wonder of the ancient world, the lighthouse of Pharos.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55The lighthouse of Pharos!
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Caesar described it soaring in height,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02a work of unimaginable construction.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05It stood on an island at the mouth of the harbour.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10And whoever controlled this island, controlled the traffic of all ships
0:27:10 > 0:27:12into Alexandria. So in all haste,
0:27:12 > 0:27:18Caesar dispatched his troops to seize the island and the great lighthouse itself.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28The 300ft lighthouse had a distinctive eight-sided tower.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32From the top, sentries could see for 30 miles out to sea.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38Workmen stoked giant braziers to keep the lighthouse torch burning.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44It was an emblem of Cleopatra's family,
0:27:44 > 0:27:49and was about to take centre stage, in an epic chapter of this story.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56As the battle raged, the young
0:27:56 > 0:28:01Princess Arsinoe stole a moment to turn the tables for the Egyptians.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06She made a daring escape from the palace.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36The rebels proclaimed Arsinoe their queen,
0:28:36 > 0:28:41to lead them in rebellion against Caesar and Cleopatra.
0:28:46 > 0:28:51Back in Ephesus, Hilke and her team are searching for further clues
0:28:51 > 0:28:56to link their mysterious skeleton with Egypt, over 500 miles away.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Their investigation turns to the tomb itself.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07The heroes' tombs in Ephesus
0:29:07 > 0:29:12all carried symbols which told the story of who was buried inside.
0:29:13 > 0:29:182,000 years ago, everyone would have known who they were.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24Today, we have to decipher our tomb like a secret code.
0:29:25 > 0:29:30Only the burial chamber and its octagonal base remain intact.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41But there is one further piece of the tomb that is preserved,
0:29:41 > 0:29:46because the original archaeologists took it back to Vienna.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54Nearly 20 feet high,
0:29:54 > 0:29:58it's still only a third of the height of the whole building.
0:29:58 > 0:30:03It reveals a vital clue about the tomb's owner.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10These pieces have been found right beside the octagon.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13It must have been something like a torch probably, where you can put up
0:30:13 > 0:30:16a light in the top of this little column.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19So it looks like a bundle of papyrus leaves from Egypt.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23As an image, as the type of this column, everyone would recognise
0:30:23 > 0:30:25at once, papyrus bundle and Egypt.
0:30:25 > 0:30:31So the stone imagery strongly suggests the tomb's owner was Egyptian.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34But to decode the building in full,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37the team would have to rebuild the whole thing.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42It survives only as 170 scattered stones.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46Austrian archaeologists and colleagues of Hilke Thur
0:30:46 > 0:30:50have painstakingly been piecing together fragments of the tomb.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52They've scoured the site for fragments,
0:30:52 > 0:30:55hoping one day to put it all together again
0:30:55 > 0:30:58like pieces of a giant jigsaw.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05A team of engineers is brought in to scan each and every stone into
0:31:05 > 0:31:10a computer and rebuild the tomb in virtual space.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14This is just kind of a heap of stones right here.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18It's kind of a virtual stone yard.
0:31:18 > 0:31:23We have plenty of objects looking quite similar,
0:31:23 > 0:31:26and we have to figure out where they could belong.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32Then the scanning reveals another clue, invisible to the naked eye.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36A tiny diagram that gives away the shape of the tomb.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40This potentially is a drawing of the base, the columns,
0:31:40 > 0:31:42and the roof on top of it.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46Nobody knew about this drawing up to this summer.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53Armed with clues like this, the tomb begins to take shape,
0:31:53 > 0:31:58and we can now see what it would have looked like 2,000 years ago.
0:32:09 > 0:32:15Then, it stood 50 feet high and 13 feet wide, the most prominent tomb
0:32:15 > 0:32:20in Ephesus and, most important of all, it had eight sides.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25Hilke searches in vain for tombs from this period
0:32:25 > 0:32:28with the same peculiar octagonal shape.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33Once again, she turns to the story of Cleopatra and her sister Arsinoe,
0:32:33 > 0:32:36and uncovers the story of the battle for the Pharos lighthouse.
0:32:39 > 0:32:40Hilke is immediately struck
0:32:40 > 0:32:44by the eight-sided tomb's resemblance to the lighthouse.
0:32:46 > 0:32:51The symbol of Cleopatra's dynasty, the Pharos was the most prominent
0:32:51 > 0:32:54octagonal building in the ancient world.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57This is a "eureka" moment.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05The Pharos lighthouse and the destiny of Arsinoe were
0:33:05 > 0:33:08about to become inextricably linked.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12The Queen of Egypt, still an adolescent,
0:33:12 > 0:33:14now took on the might of Rome.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24With Caesar pinned down on the island of Pharos, her
0:33:24 > 0:33:28troops launched a surprise attack, catching him completely off guard.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39The Romans ran for their lives.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45Trapped the island of Pharos, Caesar had to swim for his life.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51Weighted down, as he was, by his thick robes and being pelted
0:33:51 > 0:33:58by the Egyptians, his cloak, being purple, made for an easy target.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02He might have perished miserably had he not thrown off his clothing
0:34:02 > 0:34:05and succeeded in swimming further out to sea.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27Caesar barely escaped with his life
0:34:27 > 0:34:31and staggered back to Cleopatra at the palace.
0:34:33 > 0:34:39The hero of Rome had been defeated by Arsinoe - barely a teenager.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44The Pharos lighthouse now became a symbol of her famous victory.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53When Caesar's cloak was hoisted above the battlements,
0:34:53 > 0:34:55the message was clear.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Princess Arsinoe had shamed the might of Rome.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10There was an incredible moment, when it looked like there might
0:35:10 > 0:35:11be the start of a new dynasty.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16If things had continued along this path, a path Arsinoe might reasonably have hoped for,
0:35:16 > 0:35:21we would now remember the legend of Queen Arsinoe, not Cleopatra.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24But the alternative future didn't last long.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29The rebels began to argue among themselves.
0:35:29 > 0:35:34Caesar used the breathing space to bring in reinforcements from Syria.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36He launched a counter attack.
0:35:36 > 0:35:43Caesar had promised to restore his lover to the throne, and now he was to honour his word.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47The young Ptolemy was pursued by Roman troops and, weighed down by
0:35:47 > 0:35:51his gold armour, he was drowned trying to escape across the Nile.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54Cleopatra's first rival for the throne had been dispatched
0:35:54 > 0:35:56without her having to lift a finger.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59Caesar had done the work for her.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14Arsinoe was taken prisoner.
0:36:14 > 0:36:20Cleopatra's greatest rival, her own little sister, was in her grasp.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Caesar was victorious, but he didn't take over Egypt.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39He placed Cleopatra, in whose name he'd fought the war,
0:36:39 > 0:36:41back on the throne.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44By tradition, she was to marry her last surviving younger brother.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48He was around 12 years old.
0:36:52 > 0:36:57As for Princess Arsinoe, she was taken to Rome in chains.
0:37:00 > 0:37:01A captive of Caesar,
0:37:01 > 0:37:06she must have felt a world away from her moment of glory.
0:37:13 > 0:37:19In 46BC, Caesar celebrated his Egyptian triumph in Rome.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25Top of the bill of the entertainments was an effigy of the Pharos
0:37:25 > 0:37:30and a parade of the Egyptian prisoners captured in Alexandria.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32At their head was Arsinoe.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36Caesar had a special treat in store for the crowd.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40The custom was to take the main prisoner at the end of the parade
0:37:40 > 0:37:42and strangle her to death.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48Imagine what that must have felt like for Arsinoe.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51Did she know that that was what was intended for her?
0:37:51 > 0:37:55And whatever else she was, whatever else she might have done,
0:37:55 > 0:37:56she was just a young girl.
0:37:56 > 0:38:01But in Caesar's eyes she was the teenage rebel who had taken on Rome
0:38:01 > 0:38:03and this would be her just desserts.
0:38:13 > 0:38:18Arsinoe was to be paraded along with the other captives.
0:38:18 > 0:38:25It was a spectacle which had never before been seen in Rome - a woman,
0:38:25 > 0:38:30and one once considered a queen, now in chains.
0:38:38 > 0:38:45Behind her, Caesar paraded a burning effigy of the lighthouse of Pharos.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Once the embodiment of her greatest victory,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53it was now a symbol of her humiliation.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08The octagonal symbol that Hilke is now convinced
0:39:08 > 0:39:10is the key to the code of her tomb.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23To onlookers, Arsinoe looked more like a child than a rebel leader.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28To execute barbarians was one thing,
0:39:28 > 0:39:32but to strangle a young princess as a circus act was quite another.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36The triumphs delighted the spectators,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38but the sight of Arsinoe
0:39:38 > 0:39:43led out amongst the captives displeased them exceedingly.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51Caesar's stunt backfired.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57It aroused a great sympathy amongst the people.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01To be certain, it was for that that her life was spared.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07The crowd forced Caesar's hand and he had to spare Arsinoe.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10But he could never allow her to return to Egypt.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14Instead, he banished her,
0:40:14 > 0:40:20close to a thousand miles from Rome and 500 miles from Egypt,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24to Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37Ephesus was a vast, imperial capital - Rome's gateway to Asia.
0:40:47 > 0:40:52Try and imagine what Ephesus was like 2,000 or more years ago.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54This was no Roman backwater.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57This was one of the most exciting and cosmpolitan
0:40:57 > 0:41:00cities anywhere in the known world.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05A glittering jewel, that attracted the great and the good, the famous and the infamous.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Everybody who was anybody came here.
0:41:09 > 0:41:14To them, Ephesus was a place of pilgrimage and pleasure.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16But for Arsinoe,
0:41:16 > 0:41:18it was a prison.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22For the rest of her life, home would be a religious sanctuary -
0:41:22 > 0:41:27the Temple of Artemis, another ancient wonder of the world.
0:41:36 > 0:41:42In ancient times, the building was visible for miles out to sea, even at night.
0:41:42 > 0:41:47And this is what Princess Arsinoe would have seen as she approached by boat.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53She was just a teenage girl, but she knew that she would be spending
0:41:53 > 0:41:56the rest of her life here, in the care of eunuch priests
0:41:56 > 0:41:59and that she would never see Alexandria again.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17These ruins might not look like much today,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21but 2,000 years ago, this place was the reason for the fame of the city.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24This was the Temple of Artemis,
0:42:24 > 0:42:27one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
0:42:45 > 0:42:50The Roman historian Pliny tells us that the temple alone
0:42:50 > 0:42:53was 425 feet long, 225 feet wide,
0:42:53 > 0:42:59with 127 columns, each 60 feet high, supporting a massive roof.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10It was here, 2,000 years ago,
0:43:10 > 0:43:12Cleopatra's sister came to seek sanctuary.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18'Dr Sabine Ladstatter knows just how important Artemis was
0:43:18 > 0:43:22'to political exiles like Arsinoe.'
0:43:22 > 0:43:26It was a common practice that you may ask for political asylum.
0:43:26 > 0:43:31If you got the asylum here you could stay here as long as you want.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35People lived here for years, for decades, and they were safe
0:43:35 > 0:43:39because the Artemesion had its own administration
0:43:39 > 0:43:42and had its own jurisdiction.
0:43:42 > 0:43:46So nobody was allowed to interfere in the Artemesion.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54Arsinoe's coup had failed, but her life had been spared.
0:43:55 > 0:44:01Under the protection of the temple and the watchful eye of Rome,
0:44:01 > 0:44:03her days as a rebel were over.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07But at least no one could harm her here -
0:44:07 > 0:44:09or so she thought.
0:44:17 > 0:44:22Just two years later, in March 44BC, the man who had spared her life,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25Julius Caesar, was stabbed to death.
0:44:29 > 0:44:33With Caesar dead, Arsinoe's future was thrown into jeopardy.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38For Cleopatra, there was no one left to curb her
0:44:38 > 0:44:43ambition to be sole Queen of Egypt, even at the cost of her own family.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48With Caesar gone, what would she do?
0:44:50 > 0:44:53The bloody answer came within weeks.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57She had her husband, co-ruler and last little brother murdered.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09Only Arsinoe was now out of Cleopatra's reach.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15Then, the Roman Empire in the east got a new governor.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18His name was Marc Antony.
0:45:18 > 0:45:23His seat of power was Ephesus, the city of Arsinoe's exile.
0:45:25 > 0:45:30And he used the city as a place for his expensive personal pleasures.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38Even in Ephesus, with the vast reserves of wealth the city had
0:45:38 > 0:45:43to offer, Marc Antony's licentious lifestyle soon left him broke.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47He had enemies on his borders in Iran and in Armenia,
0:45:47 > 0:45:50and his wars were expensive.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53It wasn't long before the new governor's lifestyle
0:45:53 > 0:45:57meant that he too had to look across the sea to the wealth of Egypt.
0:45:57 > 0:46:01And Egypt meant Cleopatra.
0:46:04 > 0:46:09Antony summoned her to Tarsus in modern-day Turkey.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11But Cleopatra played hard to get.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14If she did come, it would be on her terms.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17She was older now,
0:46:17 > 0:46:19and more savvy.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23She had received several letters from Antony.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25Still, she refused to come.
0:46:25 > 0:46:30Then, as if in mockery of them, she sailed to Tarsus to meet him.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36The people poured from the towns to catch but a glimpse of her.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40The throng streamed away, til at last just Antony was left,
0:46:40 > 0:46:42seated alone on his chair.
0:46:44 > 0:46:49She herself lay under a canopy of golden cloth,
0:46:49 > 0:46:54adorned like Venus, while beautiful boys stood either side of her
0:46:54 > 0:46:56in adoration of their queen.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05Marc Antony held the key to a prize that until now had
0:47:05 > 0:47:08been beyond Cleopatra's grasp -
0:47:08 > 0:47:11the life of Arsinoe.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14Antony was now as valuable to Cleopatra
0:47:14 > 0:47:17as Cleopatra was to Antony.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24The honeymoon period in the year that followed became legend.
0:47:29 > 0:47:34Every day they would hold even more lavish feasts for one another,
0:47:34 > 0:47:36Cleopatra constantly flattering him,
0:47:36 > 0:47:40meting out each day some fresh new delight, some
0:47:40 > 0:47:44enticing little way to charm him, releasing him neither night nor day.
0:47:46 > 0:47:51She watched him as he exercised himself in arms.
0:47:54 > 0:48:00She drank with him, she played at dice with him, she hunted with him.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06But, behind the romance, both knew they had an agenda.
0:48:06 > 0:48:12Antony needed the resources of Egypt to pay his debts and fight his wars.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16Cleopatra craved absolute security, and that meant removing
0:48:16 > 0:48:20her last remaining rival to the throne of Egypt -
0:48:20 > 0:48:23her younger sister Arsinoe.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33But at the temple of Artemis, under the care of priests,
0:48:33 > 0:48:37the Princess was surely no longer a threat to anybody,
0:48:37 > 0:48:40least of all Cleopatra.
0:48:42 > 0:48:49Stung once in Alexandria, Cleopatra saw it differently.
0:48:51 > 0:48:56Back in the present, there's one final question for Fabian to answer.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59How did the lady in the octagon tomb die?
0:49:01 > 0:49:06I have seen hundreds of skeletons in Ephesus, more than 500.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10And there's just two juveniles in the whole sample.
0:49:10 > 0:49:15And this is astonishing, because it's very unlikely to die in the juvenile age.
0:49:15 > 0:49:20She has been treated well her whole life.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23I think she was quite healthy at the time of death.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26We also don't have any sign for why she died.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32And there's also no sign of any kind of long-term, degenerative illness?
0:49:32 > 0:49:36No, there's no sign of long illnesses, even short illnesses.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40There's just perfectly smooth, proportioned bones.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44This was not an individual that had to do hard labour work.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47So it seems to be somebody who lived quite well,
0:49:47 > 0:49:51had an easy life and then unexpectedly, in her teens...
0:49:51 > 0:49:53- Gone.- Yeah.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59The Roman sources were in no doubt.
0:49:59 > 0:50:05Arsinoe died a sudden death and they knew who was responsible.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10At Tarsus, a deal had been struck between Antony and Cleopatra
0:50:10 > 0:50:15and Arsinoe was to find out what this meant for her.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24SCRAPING
0:51:03 > 0:51:05SHE SCREAMS
0:51:05 > 0:51:07In the city of Ephesus,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10at the behest of Cleopatra,
0:51:10 > 0:51:13Marc Antony had her sister dragged
0:51:13 > 0:51:21from the temple of Artemis and there, in this holy place, the young Arsinoe
0:51:21 > 0:51:23was put to death.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25No!
0:51:25 > 0:51:27It was not only a shock in Ephesus,
0:51:27 > 0:51:29it was a shock in Rome and everywhere, you know?
0:51:29 > 0:51:33It was unbelievable that someone interferes in
0:51:33 > 0:51:37a sanctuary, and especially in the Artemesion of Ephesus.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40It was the biggest crime in this period.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50The carbon dating of the bones,
0:51:50 > 0:51:53the sex, build and age of the skeleton at the time of death
0:51:53 > 0:51:58and the fact it belonged to someone of high birth, point to one thing.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04Experts are now convinced that this skeleton is the first forensic
0:52:04 > 0:52:08evidence of Cleopatra's family ever found.
0:52:09 > 0:52:13The shape of the tomb, its similarity to the Pharos,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16these are all parts of a code.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19And the whole of it comes together to make a complete picture.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23At last, we can solve the mystery beyond doubt
0:52:23 > 0:52:25of who this skeleton actually is.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29None other than Cleopatra's sister, Arsinoe.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33Egyptian rebel, Queen of Egypt, murdered on the sacred ground of
0:52:33 > 0:52:38the holy temple of Artemis, by Marc Antony, on the orders of his lover.
0:52:40 > 0:52:45But of course what we haven't known until now is what she looked like.
0:52:47 > 0:52:51Although the forensic team have only an incomplete skeleton,
0:52:51 > 0:52:56using our virtual template, we can now rebuild the skull.
0:53:03 > 0:53:07Hilke and Fabian thought the skull was lost forever,
0:53:07 > 0:53:10so I'm dying to see how they'll react.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14- I know you've been looking for this skull for a long time.- Wow.
0:53:14 > 0:53:19And we don't have the real thing, but we've got the next best thing.
0:53:19 > 0:53:20Which is a very exact replica.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23- And this is where it should be. - May we touch it?
0:53:23 > 0:53:25Yes, of course.
0:53:27 > 0:53:31- Cool.- This is really cool, yeah.
0:53:31 > 0:53:32Brilliant.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35Perfect.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39It's really like looking in her face.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43But this is quite another thing, to have the skull
0:53:43 > 0:53:45of her in your hands.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49This is really enormous big feeling.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55Wow!
0:53:55 > 0:53:56Well, it was worth bringing then!
0:54:02 > 0:54:06The forensic team are convinced they've proved beyond doubt
0:54:06 > 0:54:09that these are the bones of Princess Arsinoe.
0:54:09 > 0:54:14But rebuilding the skull has unlocked an incredible secret
0:54:14 > 0:54:16about her ancestry.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20Until recently, Cleopatra's dynasty was thought to be Greek,
0:54:20 > 0:54:22European, caucasian.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26But some scholars now believe Cleopatra and her siblings
0:54:26 > 0:54:27had African blood.
0:54:27 > 0:54:31Could the answer be in this skull?
0:54:31 > 0:54:35The distance from the forehead to the back of the skull is long in relation
0:54:35 > 0:54:37to the overall height of the cranium.
0:54:37 > 0:54:39And that's something you see quite frequently in
0:54:39 > 0:54:44certain populations, one of which is ancient Egyptians. Another would be
0:54:44 > 0:54:49black African groups, will also show that characteristic.
0:54:49 > 0:54:54This one certainly looks more white European, but it has got this long head shape.
0:54:54 > 0:54:59It could suggest a mixture of ancestry.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03Our revelation backs up the controversial theory that the
0:55:03 > 0:55:09princess, and therefore her sister Cleopatra, also had African blood.
0:55:14 > 0:55:1911 years after Arsinoe's death, Antony and Cleopatra made a bid
0:55:19 > 0:55:22to take over the Roman Empire.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24But their forces were annihilated.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30The ruthless queen, who had dispatched her own brothers
0:55:30 > 0:55:36and ordered the murder of her sister Arsinoe, was now left with no option
0:55:36 > 0:55:37but to kill herself.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49By killing her sister, Cleopatra ensured that
0:55:49 > 0:55:50her last rival was dead.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52But she also ensured that there would be no more
0:55:52 > 0:55:56descendants of her father's line to do battle with Rome.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59Cleopatra thought she could use the Roman Empire,
0:55:59 > 0:56:02first in Julius Caesar, then in Marc Antony,
0:56:02 > 0:56:05to keep her on the throne. But she was wrong.
0:56:05 > 0:56:10Egypt became just another province of the Roman Empire.
0:56:13 > 0:56:18Although Cleopatra succeeded in murdering Arsinoe, she couldn't
0:56:18 > 0:56:20erase her entirely from history.
0:56:20 > 0:56:25So only one last question remains.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27What did she look like?
0:56:29 > 0:56:34Now that we've remade the skull of the lady from the octagon,
0:56:34 > 0:56:37we can finally rebuild her face.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39Lost for 2,000 years,
0:56:39 > 0:56:44this computer-generated image shows what she might have looked like.
0:56:58 > 0:57:03Scientists are convinced this is Cleopatra's sister...
0:57:04 > 0:57:06..Princess Arsinoe.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11This may be as close as we'll ever get
0:57:11 > 0:57:14to seeing Cleopatra in the flesh.
0:57:23 > 0:57:26The picture it paints is a very different one
0:57:26 > 0:57:28from the romantic legend.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33Not just a cunning politician,
0:57:33 > 0:57:34a beautiful queen
0:57:34 > 0:57:37or an amorous seductress.
0:57:37 > 0:57:41This is the portrait...of a killer.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:10 > 0:58:14E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk