LUXOR, Egypt (AP) — The
search for ancient Egypt's Queen Nefertiti in an alleged hidden chamber in King
Tut's tomb gained new momentum as Egypt's Antiquities Minister said Tuesday he
is now more convinced a queen's tomb may lay hidden behind King Tutankhamun's
final resting place.
While touring the
burial sites of Tutankhamun and other pharaohs in Luxor's famed Valley of the
Kings with British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty
said he now thinks King Tut's 3,300 year-old pharaonic mausoleum probably
contains at least one hidden chamber.
Reeves theorized that
Tutankhamun, popularly known as King Tut, who died at the age of 19, may have
been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Nefertiti's tomb.
"I agree with him
that there's probably something behind the walls," el-Damaty said. But he
said if anyone is buried there it is likely Kia, believed by some Egyptologists
to be King Tut's mother.
High-resolution images
of King Tut's tomb "revealed several very interesting features which look
not at all natural, features like very, very straight lines which are 90
degrees to the ground, positioned so as to correspond with other features
within the tomb," Reeves said during the visit.
These features would
have been difficult to capture with the naked eye, he said.
View galleryThe tomb of
King Tut is displayed in a glass case at …
The tomb of King Tut is
displayed in a glass case at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Tuesda …
Reeves said the walls
could conceal two unexplored doorways, one of which perhaps leads to
Nefertiti's tomb. He also argues that the design of the tomb suggests it was
built for a queen, rather than a king.
El-Damaty said he will
seek final approval for a radar inspection of the tomb.
Nefertiti, famed for
her beauty and who was the subject of a famous 3,300-year-old bust, was the
primary wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, who tried and failed to switch Egypt to
an early form of monotheism. Akhenaten was succeeded by a pharaoh referred to
as Smenkhare and then Tut, who is widely believed to have been Akhenaten's son.
Reeves believes that
Smenkhare is actually Nefertiti.
"Nefertiti
disappears ... according to the latest inscriptions just being found,"
said Reeves. "I think that Nefertiti didn't disappear, she simply changed
her name."
View galleryA policeman
takes a selfie at the Amenhotep II tomb …
A policeman takes a
selfie at the Amenhotep II tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt,
Tues …
After Nefertiti died,
Tut buried her, and then when he died someone decided to extend the tomb,
Reeves suggested. "Since Nefertiti had been buried a decade before, they
remembered that tomb was there and they thought, well, perhaps we can extend
it," he said.
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.
While inscriptions in
tombs provide some information, they are not always helpful in clarifying a
pharaoh's lineage.
"In the case of
royal tombs they're not dealing with mortal life. They're dealing with the
beyond," said Reeves, adding that writing things such as the family tree
"is just irrelevant."
Instead, these
inscriptions include things such as "spells to enable the deceased to
reach the lands of the gods," said Reeves. This means Egyptologists use a
number of factors to develop theories, leading to divisions among experts about
the period.
View
galleryEgypt's Antiquities Minister Mamdouh
el-Damaty, …
Egypt's Antiquities
Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty, left, and Nicholas Reeves, a British Egyptologis …
"Every
Egyptologist has got a different view on the Amarna period, because we have a
lot of evidence to discuss but not just quite enough to make a final decision,"
said Reeves.
"If we find
something extra, even one small new inscription would be a great bonus, it
could change everything," said Reeves.
Tut, Nefertiti, and
Akhenaten's family led Egypt during one of its most turbulent times that ended
with a military takeover by Egypt's top general at the time, Horemheb.
"Egypt basically
fell apart under Akhenaten and it was the military that pulled it all together
again," said Reeves, adding that Egyptians wiped out Tut's name from
official records of pharaohs.
Horemheb "made
laws to control the country and to fight against the corruption, against the
police who were corrupted, against the high officials," said Mohamed
Saleh, a former director of the Egyptian Museum who was also touring the site.
Tourism Minister Hesham
Zazou said he hopes the new discovery willrevive tourism in ancient Egyptian
sites. Tourism at Red Sea beach resorts is rebounding after years of turmoil
following the 2011 ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, said Zazou, but otherwise
"tourism is suffering tremendously."
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