Featured Image Credit: The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
We could be one step closer to finding something incredible: the lost tomb of Cleopatra.
That's something Kathleen Martinez, an archaeologist at the University of Santo Domingo, has been searching for - for nearly 20 years now.
After that much work, Martinez was well overdue some good luck - and that came in 2022, when she said her team had uncovered a 1,305-meter (4,281-foot) tunnel, located 13 meters (43 feet) underground.
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It was discovered during the excavation of a temple in the ancient ruined city of Taposiris Magna.
So, what's so exciting about this tunnel? Firstly, it's an engineering marvel - with some parts submerged underwater - and Martinez also seems to believe it could take her one step closer to Cleopatra's tomb.
Taposiris Magna is on Egypt's northern coast, and Martinez has been searching for the tomb among the ruins there.
She's been hunting since 2005, telling CNN: “My perseverance cannot be confused with obsession. I admire Cleopatra as a historical character. She was a victim of propaganda by the Romans, aiming to distort her image.
“She was an educated woman, probably the first one who studied formally at the Museum in Alexandria, the center of culture in her time."
During her excavations, she found a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis - which could mean she's in the right place, telling CNN that Cleopatra was considered "the human incarnation of the goddess Isis".
Isis was one of the most important deities of ancient Egypt. Married to Osiris, she was seen as a queen-like figure - much like Cleopatra herself.
And it's not just one tunnel that's been unearthed, but rather a whole bunch that lead into the sea and sunken structures - and Martinez suggests that they could become key in finding what she's been searching for, for all these years.
If they help her find Cleopatra's tomb, Martinez told CNN "it will be the most important discovery of the century".
Exciting discoveries are coming thick and fast out of Egypt.
In January, researchers announced they had discovered an ancient tomb in the necropolis of Saqqara, which was reportedly carved into rock over 4,000 years ago.
Within the tomb, the team found artefacts and burials from a whole range of eras - which will no doubt continue to be sifted through, to see what other exciting revelations are to be had.
