Editing Nectanebo II (section)

=== Sarcophagus ===
[[File:Saqqara,_Sarcophagus_of_Nectanebo_II_(never_used),_British_Museum.jpg|thumb|Sarcophagus of Nectanebo II, taken by Napoleon at Alexandria and soon turned over to the British army]]
In 1798, [[Napoleon]] captured the Egyptian city of [[Alexandria]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Campaign in Egypt |url=https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/the-campaign-in-egypt/ |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=napoleon.org |language=en-US}}</ref> Soon after, following the [[Siege of Alexandria (1801)|Battle of Alexandria]] in 1801, Napoleon's forces surrendered to the British, and conditionally turned over antiquities they had gathered from the ancient city. Notably, among these was the [[Rosetta Stone]], as well as a seven ton sarcophagus, covered in hieroglyphics. Soon after the British secured these, they were approached by locals who believed that this was the tomb of [[Alexander the Great]].<ref name="Chugg-2002">{{Cite journal |last=Chugg |first=Andrew |date=2002 |title=The Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/826879 |journal=Greece & Rome |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=8–26 |issn=0017-3835}}</ref> Thereafter, the sarcophagus was taken to London, where it still resides at the [[British Museum]].<ref name="britishmuseum.org">{{Cite web |title=sarcophagus; bath-tub (re-use); religious/ritual vessel {{!}} British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA10 |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=www.britishmuseum.org |language=en}}</ref>

For a time, the sarcophagus was believed to have belonged to Alexander. However, after the translation of the Rosetta Stone, the writings on the sarcophagus were deciphered, and it became clear the tomb was not fashioned for him. The hieroglyphics on the tomb were sections from the [[Amduat|Book of What is in the Underworld]], and contained the [[cartouche]] of Nectanebo II.<ref name="Chugg-2002" /> The tomb was likely created for Nectanebo, before going unused as he was overthrown and fled to Nubia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Van de Mieroop |first=Marc |title=A history of ancient Egypt |date=2011 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-6071-1 |edition=1. publ |series=Blackwell history of the ancient world |location=Chichester}}</ref>
[[File:Egyptian_Conglomerate_Sarcophagus_of_Nectanebo_II_Later_Used_as_Ritual_Bath_in_Attarin_Mosque,_30th_Dynasty,_c._345_BC_(35701905434).jpg|thumb|Sarcophagus of Nectanabo II. Seen at the bottom are the holes drilled for draining water.]]

It has been argued that the sarcophagus did indeed house the remains of Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great's body was temporarily entombed in Memphis following his death in 323 BC, and [[Saqqara]] is a suspected location of his temporary Memphite tomb. Nectanebo had erected a temple there, where he may have intended to be laid to rest. It is possible the tomb was vacant in Memphis at the same time Alexander's body was placed there. When Alexander's remains were moved to Alexandria in 280 BC, it may have been moved along with the sarcophagus.<ref name="Chugg-2002"/> In an article in the Egyptology journal ''[[Kmt (magazine)|Kmt]]'' (fall 2020), Andrew Chugg showed that a 3rd century BC fragment of a high status Macedonian tomb found embedded in the foundations of [[St Mark's Basilica|St Mark's Basilica in Venice]] in 1960 (which was believed to have been brought over from Alexandria along with the relics of St. Mark in 828 AD) is an exact fit as part of a tomb-casing for the sarcophagus, sparking renewed claims that the sarcophagus once held Alexander's remains.<ref>A. M. Chugg, [https://www.academia.edu/44109577/Was_Alexander_the_Great_Originally_Interred_in_the_Usurped_Sarcophagus_of_Nectanebo_II_In_KMT_A_Modern_Journal_of_Egyptology_Volume_31_Number_3_Fall_2020 "Was Alexander the Great Originally Interred in the Usurped Sarcophagus of Nectanebo II?"] ''Kmt: A Modern Journal of Egyptology'', Volume 31, Number 3, Fall 2020, pp. 66–74</ref>

At the [[Attarine Mosque]], where it was found by Napoleon's men, holes had been drilled in the sarcophagus. It had been used as a ritual bath when Alexandria was under Islamic rule.<ref name="britishmuseum.org"/>