Queen Nefertiti from the Royal Amarna family portraits
University of Arizona Archaeologist Nicholas Reeves says that a new find in King Tutankhamun‘s (a.k.a. King Tut‘s) tomb may reveal the whereabouts of Queen Nefertiti, reports the BBC.
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King Tutankhamun ruled Egypt around 1324 B.C. for a decade before dying at the young age of 19. Due to his brief rule, King Tut was reportedly overlooked until his tomb was discovered on November 4, 1922, by British Archaeologist Howard Carter and his team in the Valley of Kings in Egypt (pictured).
King Tut’s tomb when it was opened in 1923
The discovery would bring King Tut — and his time period — to life as it is only one of two tombs discovered by archaelogists that was actually intact.
Of the 5,000 treasures found in his tomb, his solid gold death mask and coffin were some of the most beautiful finds, showcasing the grandeur of the Egyptians at their apex in history.
Queen Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten, is said to have started a religious revolution with her husband in the worshiping of only one god, Aten, the sun disc.
Clearly beloved while she lived and one of the most-famous queens in human history, Queen Nefertiti carried a slew of titles, including Hereditary Princess, Great of Praises, Lady of All Women, Main King’s Wife, His Beloved, and Sweet of Love.
Egyptian renderings of Queen Nefertiti
Nefertiti may have been more than a queen, though. Even during her husband’s reign, it is believed that she was raised to the status of co-regent, which was equal to the status of pharaoh. Others believe that Nefertiti may have eventually become a ruler named Neferneferuaten.
And even though her legacy remains rich even to this day, Queen Nefertiti appears, at some point, to vanish from history: her death is obscured and her tomb — as well as the tombs of her parents and children — have never been found or identified.
And while some archaeologists have speculated that Queen Nefertiti is King Tut’s mother, a scan performed by Spanish artistic and preservation specialists Factum Arte may provide answers to Queen Nefertiti’s whereabouts after thousands of years.
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.”
Dr. Reeves believes the doors may lead to the secret remains of Queen Nefertiti.
“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.”
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