Tomb of Alexander the Great to be found?

The legendary Egyptian city of Alexandria, home to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, appears to have been designed to align with the rising sun on the exact day Alexander the Great was born.

New discovery opens up hope of finding the tomb of Alexander the Great

The legendary Macedonian king, who ruled an empire stretching from Greece to present-day India, built the ancient city of Alexandria in 331 BC. Over time, the city became more and more prosperous, associated with names such as Queen Cleopatra, the Royal Library of Alexandria and the 140m-high Alexandria Lighthouse, one of the 7 Wonders of the World.

Ancient Alexandria was planned around an east-west thoroughfare called the Canopic Road, says Italian archaeologist Giulio Magli. A new study of the ancient route reveals that it was not built according to the terrain (it did not run parallel to the coastline, for example). Instead, on Alexander the Great’s birthday, the 4th-century sunrise would have been “almost perfectly aligned” with the road.

The findings could help researchers find the tomb of Alexander the Great, LiveScience reported. Ancient texts say the king's body was placed in a gold coffin, which was then protected by a gold sarcophagus. The tomb was built somewhere in Alexandria but has been lost for nearly 2,000 years.

Magli and colleagues used computer software to simulate the position of the sun in the 4th century BC. (Because the Earth's orbit is not perfect, there are variations in the sun's movement over the centuries.) Alexander the Great was born on July 20, 356 BC, according to the Julian calendar, which is slightly different from the modern calendar because it does not have leap years.

On July 20, 4th century B.C., researchers found that the sun rose at a point exactly half a degree off the axis of the Canopic Avenue, Magli told LiveScience.

In addition to the sun, a second star adds to the natural effect. Regulus, considered the “King’s Star” and located at the head of the constellation Leo, also rises in a near-alignment with Canopic Avenue.

Magli says that astronomical planning was common in the ancient world. The Great Pyramid of Giza, for example, is aligned with astonishing precision with compass points.

According to Vietnamnet - QN