Schoolcraft College

The Missing Tomb of Alexander the Great

Trevor McKersie
History 134
Professor Ryan Masters
October 12th, 2014

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The missing tomb of Alexander the Great dates back to around the late 300s to the early
400 A.D. His tomb has most assumingly been placed in Alexandria where most people believe
the story that two of his generals Arrhidaeus and Ptolemy had decided to take his body to Egypt
instead of being buried next to his father in Aegea. Ptolemy had previously buried his body in the
old capital for over a thousand years, Memphis, but then the new capital cities became
Alexandria and if justice be served most people believe his tomb was moved to the city he built1.
Many people speculate that the body will never be found but with careful excavating and
following the clues that has been left behind. The clues will work itself out and finally we will be
able to find the body of Alexander the Great and be able to determine what he died of whether it
be poisoned or illness the only way to find out would be with his body.
His tomb in Alexandria was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world; it was called
the Colossus of Rhodes and was significant to the city in Egypt. This burial here was showing
the political power Egypt still could posses having people from the Roman Empire like Julius
Caesar visiting his lifelong hero and who he always compared himself to. Then about 18 years
later Augustus came to visit him and accidentally broke his nose off. All the speculation of who
had visited him before 400 A.D. was astonishing. Then people didnt know where he was due to
war or a huge earthquake that struck in 365 A.D. his body had been lost to time and never had it
been seen again1. It is speculated that the body wasnt found; since the emperor of France,
Napoleon Bonaparte, had visited Egypt to find his hero Alexander. Determined by this he found
a sarcophagus in a temple meant for Pharaoh Nectanebo II but his body was never buried here.

Chugg, Andrew. "Alexander's final resting place: Andrew Chugg pinpoints the Emperor's long-

lost tomb." History Today 54.7 (2004): 17+.Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.

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The speculation continues whether or not the sarcophagus found by Napoleon then taken from
him and put into the British Museum was really ever the final resting place for Alexander the
Great. Since there is no DNA evidence to suggest this is true most people believe it is a fraud and
that it isnt where Alexander was last buried2.
When Alexander had died in Babylon in 323 B.C. it took engineers nearly a year and a
half to create a catafalque and while taking his body back home it was taken away from them and
moved to Egypt with the help of his generals1. Ever since it has left many questioning where was
he placed and where could his body be. Most people throughout history have faked the findings
and have been fully stripped and discredited. These people were hoping to find it and when they
couldnt they just decided to create a scenario where it seemed they made the discovery of a
lifetime. While one of these men wasnt faking the discovery renowned archaeologist Heinrich
Schliemann had a hunch that he had found a site where the body couldve been laid to rest but
was denied because of many religious reasons1. The body of Alexander the Great and the
Mystery of where it lies has been through everyones minds and where it could have been laid to
rest last is what puzzles most archaeologists. Most people dont know where to look next since
most of Alexandria has been torn apart looking for his tomb with no avail most people believe
his body has been lost forever in time.
During the time of his death his generals werent fairly concerned about what to do with
his body or worried at all about what will happen. They were more concerned about who will
take over the biggest empire in the history of the world at that time and most people believed it
would be handed down to Alexander the IV but he was only an infant at the time so the generals
2

Beyond the Movie: Alexander the Great. Dir. Helen Fitzwilliam. Narrator. Ron David

Distributed by Warner Brothers Home Video, 2004. Film. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.

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of his army were finding who should lead them for now and his brother Philip the III would fall
on him for now but the problem was all the other generals felt like they had equal chance and
Alexanders legacy of his empire would fall soon and become an empire made up of 5 different
kingdoms and most being ruled by his generals3. This created Chaos among them and where the
body should be laid to rest; it basically took them years and many movements of the body to
finally end up in Alexandria that it all could be just a fake possibly. The body in Alexandria
could just have been a cover up for where the body was really last laid to rest in Siwa.
Siwa was a city very precious to Alexander the Great because here is where he learned he
would be ruler of the world to conquer everything he could and was the son of Zeus supposedly.
All this meaning in one city has led some historians and archaeologists to believe that this is
where they took his body and left him. Since this city was an oasis in the middle of the desert at
the time it could very well be covered in sand. The city still stands today in ruins but underneath
all that sand is where the actual resting place of Alexander the Great could have been placed at.
No one will ever know for sure, but looking at all the clues and all the evidence is crucial in
doing so4.
People still speculate today where the body could be hidden, people have looked through the
cities in Alexandria, Memphis and Siwa with no luck so far. But all these cities in Egypt could
also be another cover up the body could have been placed in Greece somewhere or it could have
been left at the remains of Babylon. All the stories of speculation are basically no one is really
3

Snape, Steven. "The lost tomb: this is one search that may never end." Dig Mar. 2008: 20+.

General OneFile. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.

4

"Greek archaeologists `find Alexander's tomb at oasis'; Alexander the Great." Times [London,

England] 30 Jan. 1995: 10. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.

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sure where the body could be and it could very well be lost to time forever. The search will
always continue and one day his body will be found and we can finally answer one of life's
greatest mysteries as to what could have plagued a young man to die. It could have been malaria
or he could have been poisoned the only way to discover this life mystery is with another in
finding Alexander the Greats lost tomb.

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Works Cited
Chugg, Andrew. "Alexander's final resting place: Andrew Chugg pinpoints the Emperor's longlost tomb." History Today 54.7 (2004): 17+.Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.
In Andrew Chuggs article he illustrates the point of the many failed attempts at the body
of Alexander the Great he also provides a very fluent back-story about how he was taken
from one place to another and how many people had visited his body until his
disappearance.
Beyond the Movie: Alexander the Great. Dir. Helen Fitzwilliam. Narrator. Ron David
Distributed by Warner Brothers Home Video, 2004. Film. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.
The class had watched this movie to understand more about Alexander the Great and his
whole life story including his death and final resting places. This video has the basic
knowledge about his own history and the mystery of his tomb which some speculate they
have found his sarcophagus and it is in England. But no one has yet found a body to
determine the DNA evidence.
Snape, Steven. "The lost tomb: this is one search that may never end." Dig Mar. 2008: 20+.
General OneFile. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.
Steven Snape gives a look into the minds of the generals and more basic knowledge on
how and why the body was moved from Memphis to Alexandria.
"Greek archaeologists `find Alexander's tomb at oasis'; Alexander the Great." Times [London,
England] 30 Jan. 1995: 10. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.
It has been hypothesized that Alexanders tomb may very well be buried in Siwa, where
he got advice from a woman who told him he was son of Zeus and also where he wanted
to be buried.