Cleopatra snake bite story 'impossible' say scientists at Manchester University

Scientists have revealed that the Ancient Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, may NOT have died of a snake bite!

Cleopatra was the last female pharaoh of Egypt, and her legendary story has become one of the most hotly debated of all the Ancient Egyptian facts and secrets!

When the Roman Empire took control of Egypt in 44 BC, Cleopatra decided to take her own life rather than surrender it to the new Roman Emperor, Octavian.

As tradition has it, the queen smuggled a snake into her pre-built burial chamber, where she used its venom to kill herself and her two most faithful servants, Charmion and Eiras.

But new research has cast doubt on this story…

Clever snake experts and Egyptologists down at the University of Manchester have said that the suspected culprit – a cobra – couldn’t possibly have been small enough to be concealed in a small basket, as the story claims.

Cleopatra snake bite story 'impossible' say scientists at Manchester University

Cleopatra’s legendary last moments might all be a fib!

A cobra is typically 1.5m long, and experts say that it would have been difficult to sneak a snake of that size into Cleopatra’s tomb without raising a few eyebrows!

They believe that even if the snake had been smuggled in, it would have been “impossible” to use a snake bite to kill two or three people.

Andrew Gray, an expert on amphibians at Manchester Museum said, “Not only are cobras too big, but there’s just a 10% chance you would die from a snake bite: most bites are dry bites that don’t inject venom.”

Snakes save their venom for when they most need it – during hunting and for protection – so the scientists don’t believe that one snake would have delivered three fatal bites one after the other – yikes!

So how did Cleopatra die? Well, scientists are still deciding! Many believe she may instead have taken a cocktail of poison – but who knows if we’ll ever discover the last queen of Egypt’s dying secret?

Did you know that we have a FREE downloadable Cleopatra primary resource? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!

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COMMENTS

  • annie

    wow

  • Amelia

    Cool

  • Hamster 2.0

    Wow! I wonder why........

  • Dylpro75

    OMG thats awsome

  • Mching

    Intriguing

  • bella

    SUPER COOL! It might have been a cobra that was different then the one we know today. Like an unevolved one.

  • shane

    cool

  • NGK FAN

    What if it was a very venomous,small and un-discovered species of snake?

  • son

    awesomenesssssssssssssss

  • Millie

  • isabella

    i found that very interesting. i hope one day the scientists will find it out.

  • Kamil

    My friend Comari is the king. because king is his last name!

  • Kamil

    Love you!

  • Kamil

    I love snakes! Snakes are my favorite animal in the wold they are awesome!

  • KATRINA4

    Cleopatra killed herself because the Roman Empire wanted to attack Egypt and the only person in power was Cleo. So (as myth told) Cleopatra killed herself because she didnt want her in the hands of the Roman Empire

  • iloveguineapigs

    serious?

  • Sam

    Love this its school fun

  • Cook1234

    Wow cool mystery

  • Sam

    Awesome history

  • mac1

    eyypt rocks

  • POPER

    LOL!!!!!!!!!!

  • evan

    i hate this

  • somarah

    peace

  • somarah

    lol

  • somarah

    sup aja

  • somarah

    hi

  • Grace96237

    Thats interesting

  • Charlie-patra

    SO COOL !

  • julia.

    wow thats awsome

  • MUNCHYNESS

    AWSOME NEVER HEARD INTRESTING NEWS!!!!!!!

  • Annie-is-8

    awesome

  • vunu

    i love it!

  • Jessica

    Cool

  • Eboni

    Why did cleopatrea kill hear seleff pleas write and explane

  • MINNIE

    WOW

  • lol456

    This is so cool

  • Idksojsutstop

    How long ago was she found dead?

  • Person123456835764

    I know all this..

  • Keralina

    Wow! Then how did she die??!!

  • Sru

    Awesome

  • Allison_23

    Cool beans! :P

  • pengwen

    hi

  • acool

    awsome lol

  • BATGIRL

    So how DID she die??????

  • puppygirl

    I read in a book that it was a cocktail of poison, so thats what I think happened to her. I also read she was a wife of ceaser.

  • Lachlan10

    Awesome fact

  • poppy-panda

    Cant wait

  • josh12

    unbelievable

  • SarahNoodle123

    WOW! CANT WAIT TO FIND OUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED.

  • lepord

    how could they be right its not like they have they have the body you never know but did you know acutely she was not that pretty.So you know what i mean please tell more

  • Gracetiger

    Bit weird if cleopatra and her servants died from a snake bite

  • Jeisha_Hernandez

    It was very Interesting to have read that!

  • noah77777777777777777777777777777777y77y7y7y77777

    cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Hannha105

    Nice!!

  • est7uio

    Great

  • Wiktor

    YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

  • Gurjaap

  • Mohadesa

    So cool

  • pooppoop

    COOLL NOT

  • Ninevah

    Super Research!

  • Katie

    AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Katie

    Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • EMILEE

    Cool

  • 1234578901258910

    that is what I call a weird thing

  • uainin11

    great information

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