In a historic first, Dominican diplomat and archaeologist Kathleen Martínez has been unanimously elected as a member of the Archaeological Academy of Italy, a prestigious institution with roots tracing back to the 19th Century, Listin Diario reports. The honor recognizes her groundbreaking research in Egypt, where she has led a project at Taposiris Magna in search of the long-lost tomb of Cleopatra.
Kathleen Martínez’s current diplomatic post in Egypt is Minister Counselor for Cultural Affairs at the Dominican Embassy in Egypt, and she also leads the Dominican-Egyptian Archaeological Mission in Alexandria.
The induction ceremony, held in the city of Como, was led by the academy’s vice president, Monica Lavino Mariani. Martínez was presented with a diploma formally naming her a “Foreign Academic Correspondent” for her work.
“It is a great honor for me to have been in Como, the birthplace of the Egyptologist Francisco Ballerini, one of the fathers of modern Egyptology,” Martínez said during the event. Ballerini and his colleague Ernesto Schiaparelli made one of the most significant discoveries in the Valley of the Queens: the tomb of Queen Nefertari.
During her address, Martínez proposed establishing a scientific research bridge between Italy and the Dominican Republic. This initiative aims to foster greater collaboration and knowledge sharing between the two nations.
Martínez also provided an update on her ongoing excavations, which began in 2005. She highlighted the project’s success in proving the site’s historical significance beyond the search for Cleopatra’s tomb.
“We have managed to show the scientific community that this sacred temple of Taposiris Magna was of capital importance in the religious and commercial aspect during the period of the Greek pharaohs in Egypt,” she explained.
Since she began her work, Martínez has made more than 2,500 significant discoveries. These finds include numerous coins bearing the likeness of Cleopatra VII and a white marble female bust. The team also uncovered a three-kilometer-long tunnel that extends from the temple to the Mediterranean coast, a promising avenue for further exploration. Robert Ballard, the renowned American oceanographer who discovered the Titanic’s wreck, is collaborating on the underwater research.
Martínez noted that when she first arrived in Egypt, there was little written information about the Taposiris Magna site. “It was thought that Taposiris was not active as a temple nor had it housed the cult of the goddess Isis,” she said. However, her systematic excavations proved otherwise, with new discoveries changing the historical narrative and revealing numerous hieroglyphic, Greek, Coptic, and Latin inscriptions that attest to the site’s vitality.
Listin Diario reports that during the meeting, Martínez announced that a selection of the artifacts discovered by her Dominican expedition will be displayed in a new hall at the Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria in 2026. Granted by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, the space will be named the “Taposiris Magna” hall, allowing the public to admire the team’s most important finds.
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Listin Diario
25 August 2025