The tomb of the queen has never been discovered, but the announcement supports a theory that she may be buried somewhere inside the walls of the 3,300-year-old mausoleum.
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Eldamaty, Reeves, and the scientific committee are to embark Tuesday on a second trip to the Valley of the Kings, but this time to inspect three tombs of royals who were alive in Tutanakhmun’s era: King and military commander Horemhab, King Akhenaten’s brother King Smenkare, and Amenhotep III.
Nicholas Reeves, who believes the legendary Queen Nefertiti may be buried in a secret room adjoining Tutankhamen’s tomb arrived in Egypt to test his theory.
In contrast to popular scholarship, which says that the painting located on the northern wall of Tutankhamun’s tomb shows king Ay doing the ritual for Tutankhamun – Dr Reeves believes that the picture depicts Tutankhamun himself completing a death ritual for Nefertiti. “Features like very, very straight lines which are 90 degrees to the ground, positioned so as to correspond with other features within the tomb”.
In fact, if the idea turns out to be correct, these two tombs may be one and the same.
Egyptian and foreign archaeologists have uncovered a secret door behind King Tutankhamun’s burial chamber which may perhaps lead to the lost tomb of Queen Nefertiti.
Reeves argues that Tut, who died suddenly at the age of 19, may have been rushed into an outer chamber of Nefertiti’s original tomb.
“I am very enthusiastic about this work and I’m sure something is going to be discovered behind those two controversial walls”, Eldamaty said.
The figure labelled Tutankhamun would actually be Nefertiti.
The 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb filled with artifacts, including the famed golden funeral mask, made him known the world over, and boosted interest in that era, called the Amarna period.
The Egyptologist speculated that the tomb could have been Nefertiti’s, and when King Tut died, it was extended to house his remains. They’ll announce what they find on November 4th, the anniversary of when Carter found King Tut’s tomb. Reeves’s hypothesis comes from years of studying various tombs and goods. But they can’t just knock it down; they had to find another way to see through it.
The new evidence combined with Reeves’s existing theory likely mean further excavation. Tut’s mother was a different wife, whose name we don’t know.
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Tourism Minister Hesham Zazou said he hopes the new discovery will revive tourism in ancient Egyptian sites.
