The waiter who waits...

Press, 21 April 1979, Page 15

The waiter who waits...

Bv

SHYAM BHATIA,

-‘Observer,” London

A waiter-turned-archae-ologist claims to have discovered the tomb of Alexander the Great, but the Egyptian Government has refused him permission to excavate it.

Stellio Coumoutsos is prepared to risk his life savings to prove his discovery, even though professionals at the GraecoRoman Museum in Alexandria have scoffed, at his “find.”

Coumoutsos, a 57-year-old Greek national born in Alexandria, came across the tomb in 1963 and has been fighting his battle ever since. The tomb is just off Nabi Daniel Street in central Alexandria. When he first saw it, he recalls, there was a mummy lying next to a marble column upon which the words “Alexander the Great” were inscribed in Greek, which sounds like a solid lead.

Coumoutsos says local forces hostile to him in 1963 prevented his getting due recognition for his discovery, and before it could be verified his dieging licence was withdrawn.

Hurt and dismayed, he left for Athens and stayed away for five years, but the lure of the tomb is so strong that he has returned every year for the last 10 years to try to persuade the authorities to relent. Whether one believes Coumoutsos or not, he has a fascinating account to tell of his search for Alexander. He first became

interested in the subject 36 years ago after seeing an antique map indicating the location of the warrior king’s tomb. It took three months to locate the right spot. “I first started digging around Saad Zaghloul Square,” he says, “then I gradually moved towards Nabi Daniel Street.” Digging at the new location, he uncovered some steps tnat led eight metres underground to a “vast deserted city.” Before reaching the bottom of the steps he cam?

across a door that led to Alexander's burial c.>atiib.er. Alexander’s mummy lay on a marble platform covered by a glass and metal case. Lying around it were several papyrus documents and small items of jewellery like gold rings and amulets. Beside his claim to have discovered Alexander’s tomb, Coumoutsos also says he believes Cleopatra

and other rulers of the Ptolemy period are buried nearby. He claims to have discovered Cleopatra’s winter palace on adjoining Sesostris Street, although the museum says his find is a medieval water cistern and there are manylike it all over the city. Despite the official scepticism. Coumoutsos’s claims are stoutly supported by some members of the Greek communityin Alexandria. They say that according to local folklore Alexander is buried exactly where Coumoutsos says he is.

Historians are divided on tne question of Alexander’s burial place. According to some, he died and was buried in Babylon. Others say he did not die in Babylon, but his body was mummified and taken to Alexandria. Youssef el Gheriani, director of the Graeco-Roman Museum, is among those who believe Alexander is buried somewhere in Alexandria. “But we w-ould have to destroy much of the modern city to find him,” he says. He calls Coumoutsos’s claims sheer nonsense. In 1963, professional archaeologists followed his excavations and found nothing. “Stellio Coumoutsos has an obsession about Alexander the Great. He even dreams about him,” el Gheriani says. Coumoutsos is undisturbed by such reactions. “I tell you I am neither a fool nor a mad man,” he says. “I have seen the tomb of Alexander the Great. I can show you where to find it. Just give me one day and I will show you.” — O.F.N.S. Copyright.