Snapshots ; Prologue

22nd June 2009
Tabusiris Magna Temple, Egypt

Professor James Dashwood was trying hard to choke back the tears as he stared into the void. Could it be that, finally after all these years of fruitless searching, they had found it? Clasping his hands, the elderly Oxford don offered a silent prayer, giving thanks for the good fortune that may have been bestowed upon him. He yelled for an orderly to bring him a torch, the excitement almost too much to bear. A young Egyptian man, dressed in the local costume, raced into the room and handed the torch to the professor. This was it he thought, the moment that one of history’s great mysteries might finally be solved, the last resting place of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. He shone the torch into the void and took the first tentative steps to possible glory.
         In the torch light, the narrow void gave way to a cavernous room with walls adorned with colourful hieroglyphics. Glancing around he took note of the vast quantities of objects that had been placed there; pitchers of liquid, ornately carved furniture, remnants of food and a treasure trove of beautifully crafted gold jewellery. Ornaments such as these were only buried with people of high nobility he thought. In the eyes of the professor, that was a very good sign indeed, then he saw them and his eyes grew wide. Right in front of him were two golden sarcophagi.
         He stood stock still, closed his eyes and tried to imagine the moment when these two people were interred in this tomb forever. In his head he could hear the priests reciting their prayers in the opening of the mouth ceremony which enabled the mummies to breathe and speak in the afterlife. In his nose he could smell burning incense. In his eyes he saw the chief priest touching the sarcophagi with the ceremonial adze that completed the journey. Slowly he opened his eyes. Now he needed to know the truth. He shone the torch on the walls and started to read.
         The symbols on the wall told the tale of the roman general Marcus Antonius and Queen Cleopatra and how after death, they were both mummified and laid to rest in this room. The realisation of what he had discovered became too much for him and he started to cry. For nearly forty years he had been searching, but never finding, until now that is. His gaze returned to the two gold coffins. Inside these two highly decorated boxes were the remains of quite possibly the greatest lovers the world has ever known. Now was the time to open the boxes. He shouted for assistance and four orderlies appeared in the doorway. In their hands they held crowbars and slowly they took up positions around the first of the coffins.
         
“Please be very careful, we don’t want to damage anything” said the professor.
         
Using more care than usual, the orderlies slid the crowbars into a groove between the coffin lid and the casket and started to prise it open. The wooden lid creaked as the two parts were separated and the lid rose a few inches. A bead of sweat formed on the poor professor’s brow. Here he was, standing on the edge of one of the greatest discoveries in modern times and he couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. The orderlies placed their fingers beneath the lid and lifted, rotated to the left and placed it on to the ground. The coffin was open. A lump appeared in the professor’s throat as he cautiously approached to take the first look inside for a very long time.
His first shock was that rather than finding a mummy wrapped in bandages, there was a skeleton and it was dressed as a roman soldier. This was all the proof that the professor needed, he was more than convinced that this was the tomb of Mark Anthony and Queen Cleopatra. Gesturing wildly, he ordered the orderlies to open the second casket immediately. A sense of pride welled up inside of him as he prepared to become the first person to gaze upon the Queen since she committed suicide by asp poison all those years ago. The orderlies removed the lid of the second casket and then stepped back to allow the professor to approach. The nerves were clearly evident as the professor peered over the rim of the coffin and looked inside. As he suspected, inside was a traditional mummified body, wrapped in bandages as well as something that he was not expecting. Next to the body was a wooden box. This puzzled the professor; that was not normal burial practice, so he reached into the coffin and carefully lifted the box clear.
Turning it over in his hands, he could see that it was made by a craftsman, the detail was exquisite. Something inside the box knocked against the lid. Turning it back the right way up and rotating it slightly, he noticed a small catch. What on earth was inside he thought? He pressed the catch gently and the lid clicked open. Inside he saw what looked like a leather bound book. A look of surprise crossed his face. That couldn’t be he thought, leather bound books didn’t appear until the 15th century, so what was it doing here? He picked the book out of the box and opened it. What he saw nearly stopped his heart.

“Oh my god, it can’t be... that’s impossible” he cried.

From the book he picked up what looked like a small piece of paper, except it was no ordinary piece of paper, it was a photograph and on closer inspection he realised that the photograph was of Mark Anthony and Queen Cleopatra. Inside the box were more photo’s of people the professor didn’t recognise. His attention turned to the book. It was written rather oddly; in English and it looked like some type of journal. With lots of questions emerging and confusion on his face, he started to read.