Hidden burial chamber could be King Tut’s step-mummy

A new radar survey of Tutan­khamun’s tomb has revived theories that it could conceal the burial place of Queen Nefertiti.

The famous 3300-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti at the New Museum in Berlin, Picture: AP

A new radar survey of Tutan­khamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings has revived theories that it could conceal the burial place of ancient Egypt’s mysterious Queen Nefertiti.

The theory, first proposed by British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves, was rejected two years ago after an initial survey of the tomb found no sign of the hidden chamber­ that he thought would be found behind its walls.

However, a second, fuller survey­, the results of which have now been revealed by the journal Nature, found indications of a hollow­ area set a few metres back, parallel to the entrance tunnel.

The study said the corridor-like space had now been reported to the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities for further investigation. The find was described by one archaeologist as “tremendously exciting”.

The tomb of Nefertiti, a queen from one of ancient Egypt’s most renowned royal families, has never been discovered, an abiding mystery that has set archaeol­ogists’ hearts racing ever since Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun’s burial place in 1922.

Tutankhamun is thought to have been Nefertiti’s stepson, and reigned from about 1334-1325BC. His father Akhenaten, Nefertiti’s husband, established the first monotheistic religion in Egypt, overthrowing the pantheon of gods, a revolution that came to an end after he died and the priestly caste reasserted itself.

Tutankhamun’s death at 19, from causes that have never been nailed down, has only deepened the historical speculation about a key period of ancient history. The fact that this relatively short-lived and minor pharaoh’s tomb, once opened, was found to contain such a wealth of riches makes archaeologists suspect that if his stepmother’s were ever found, and it remained unlooted, its contents would be even more spectacular.

The hidden chamber theory has divided archaeologists for years. Mr Reeves postulated in 2015 that lines and cracks in Tutankhamun’s tomb walls indicated another chamber, but early radar readings were inconclusive. The latest survey suggests a chamber 2m by 10m lies parallel to Tutan­khamun’s entrance chamber.

Mr Reeves’s theory was backed by Mamdouh Eldamaty, a former minister of antiquities, who oversaw the latest survey and told Nature­ he would “not give up easily” in his quest to find the tomb.

THE TIMES