Has Nefertiti's tomb finally been found?

Nefertiti 'was buried inside King Tut's tomb'

Nefertiti has continued to capture our collective imagination throughout the ages. No trace has been found of the legendary "beautiful one" who ruled across Egypt at her husband's side... until, possibly, now.

Nicholas Reeves, a British archaeologist at the University of Arizona believes he has found her resting place hidden in plain sight -- in the tomb of Tutankhamun.

The bold new theory comes after extensive analysis of high resolution images published online last year by Factum Arte, a Madrid-based art restoration specialist who helped create a facsimile of King Tut's burial chamber in Luxor. In the scans, Reeves spotted cracks in the walls that could indicate two previously unrecognized "ghost" doorways lay behind the walls.

"The implications are extraordinary, for, if digital appearance translates into physical reality, it seems we are now faced not merely with the prospect of a new, Tutankhamun-era storeroom to the west; to the north (there) appears to be signaled a continuation of tomb KV 62 (Tutankhamun's tomb), and within these uncharted depths an earlier royal interment -- that of Nefertiti herself."

Was Nefertiti the tomb's original occupant?

Despite relentless looters, the boy king's tomb remains one of Egypt's most prolific discoveries. Uncovered by Howard Carter in 1922, it remains the most intact tomb ever unearthed. And has been a treasure trove for archaeologists, where close to 2,000 objects were recovered.
In his paper on the possible find, Reeves theorizes that the size of Tutankhamun's tomb is "less than appropriate" for the final resting place of an Egyptian king. Instead he seems to solve the conundrum that has baffled archaeologists for years by explaining that it's inadequate size and layout is because it's an extension of an earlier tomb originally designed for a queen.

The academic also surmises that recycled equipment found in the burial chamber predates Tutankhamun's accession. He concludes the tomb was most likely intended for an Egyptian queen of the late Eighteenth Dynasty -- of which Reeves points out Nefertiti is the only woman to achieve such honors -- and repurposed upon Tutankhamun's untimely death at 17 years old.

"At the time of Nefertiti's burial... there had surely been no intention that Tutankhamun would in due course occupy this same tomb. That thought would not occur until the king's early and unexpected death a decade later," writes Reeves.

While the tomb of the ancient queen has long been thought to be lost, Reeves' theory has got Egyptologists buzzing.

"It's certainly tantalizing what Nicholas Reeves has suggested," says Toby Wilkinson, an Egyptologist at Cambridge University.

"If we look at what we know: we're pretty certain there is an undiscovered royal tomb of roughly the same period somewhere, because we have more kings than we have tombs, so logic suggests that there's still a tomb to be found."

In search of a lost queen

This isn't the first time a new lead has emerged in the hunt for Nefertiti. In 2003, Joann Fletcher from the University of York made waves when she announced that her team had identified an anonymous mummy known as the "Younger Lady" uncovered in a secret chamber inside a tomb in the Valley of the Kings as belonging to the ancient queen.

She cited evidence of the presence of a Nubian wig favored during the Amarna Period (when Nefertiti is thought to have lived), alongside embalming analysis and examination of debris.

The theory -- which aired in a documentary on the Discovery Channel -- was soon disputed by Zahi Hawass, then secretary-general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, who concluded the mummy was actually that of a 15-year-old male.

An archaeologist says he may have found evidence that Nefertiti, the former Queen of Egypt, is secretly buried inside Tutankhamun's tomb.

The whereabouts of Nefertiti's remains are not known, although those of Tutankhamun - who may have been her son - were found in 1922.

New tests have shown there may be a portal leading from King Tut's tomb.

Nicholas Reeves, an archaeologist at the University of Arizona, says he believes Neferiti may lie inside.

One leading Egyptologist urged caution over the conclusion but said that, if confirmed, it would be "brilliant".

The finds were made last year, after the Spanish artistic and preservation specialists, Factum Arte, were commissioned to produce detailed scans of Tutankhamun's tomb.
The scans were then used to produce a facsimile of the tomb near the site of the original Valley of the Kings in Luxor.
While assessing the scans last February, Dr Reeves spotted what he believed were marks indicating where two doorways used to be.
"I have been testing the evidence ever since, looking for indications that what I thought I was seeing was, in fact, not there," Dr Reeves told the BBC.
"But the more I looked, the more information I found that I seemed to be looking at something pretty real."
The layout of Tutankhamun's tomb has been a puzzle for some time - in particular, why it was smaller than those of other kings' tombs.
Dr Reeves believes there are clues in the design of the tomb that indicate it was designed to store the remains of a queen, not a king.
"If I'm wrong, I'm wrong," he said. "But if I'm right, the prospects are frankly staggering. The world will have become a much more interesting place - at least for Egyptologists."
After being discovered by English archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, the tomb of Tutankhamun was opened in February the following year.
It was the most intact Egyptian tomb ever discovered, and very few objects appeared to have been plundered.
Close to 2,000 objects were found, and it took archaeologists nine years to catalogue them all.
If the same amount of objects were found elsewhere in the tomb, it would represent "quite a coup," said Dr Reeves.
Neither Egyptian authorities nor Factum Arte have responded to the claims.
"I think there are certainly some signs that there might have been some activity around those doorways," said Joyce Tyldesley, an Egyptologist with the University of Manchester.
"Whether we can deduct from that that we actually the burial site of Nefertiti might be a step too far.
"But if it was true, it would be absolutely brilliant."

U Know!!

Author & Editor

Has laoreet percipitur ad. Vide interesset in mei, no his legimus verterem. Et nostrum imperdiet appellantur usu, mnesarchum referrentur id vim.