Does Nefertiti rest next to Tutankhamun?

Where does the Egyptian queen Nefertiti rest? The location of the tomb of the one who was the wife Akhenaton still escapes Egyptologists. A recent radar analysis of the famous tomb of Tutankhamun, in the Valley of the Kings, revealed the presence of a potential chamber behind its walls. This archaeological research has not been the subject of a classic scientific publication, but ofa detailed announcement in Nature.

It does not take less for an old controversial theory to resurface. What if Nefertiti rested in a secret burial chamber next to that of her husband's son? Some believe it when others are more skeptical.

The controversial “hidden rooms” theory

Archaeologist Mamdouh Eldamaty and former Minister of Egyptian Antiquities is leading this new research. He and his team used ground-penetrating radar to to scan the immediate vicinity of the tomb of Tutankhamun.

This technique revealed the presence of a space similar to a corridor, a few meters north of the burial chamber, and which could lead to a previously unknown chamber. The corridor would be at the same depth as the burial chamber of Tutankhamun and would be two meters high by ten meters long at least.

Nevertheless, the link physical between this space and the tomb of Tutankhamun could not be clearly established, nor even its belonging to another adjacent tomb. It could also be a banal room containing no burial.

It is not the first time that a team has sifted through the tomb of Tutankhamun in search of other pieces. This research is based on a theory which states that the tomb, discovered by Howard Carter in 1922, is strangely small for that ofa pharaoh. The Egyptologists then proposed the existence of hidden rooms, but none of them have been discovered to date.

The tomb of Nefertiti still not found

Zahi Hawass, an Egyptologist who was also Minister of Antiquities, does not seem convinced by the results of his colleague. According to him, the technique of ground penetration radar " did not allow any discovery in any site in Egypt ".

For his part Nicholas Reeves, a British Egyptologist and supporter of the theory of "hidden rooms" is more enthusiastic about the results of Mamdouh Eldamaty. He had, in 2015, published a study depicting lines on a painted wall of the tomb of Tutankhamen that might suggest the presence of back doors leading to another burial chamber which he believes to be that of Nefertiti. " If Nefertiti was buried like a pharaoh, it could be the greatest archaeological discovery of all time "He said in Nature.

Indeed, Egyptologists do not doubt the political and religious importance of Nefertiti during the XVIII^e dynasty at look the number of artistic representations of which it is the subject. Despite this, his tomb was not discovered in the Valley of the Kings and its location remains very mysterious.

Is Nefertiti's mummy hidden in the tomb of Tutankhamun?

Article published on December 01, 2015 by Laurent Sacco

When the British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered in 1922 the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun, this one, however minor, contained more than 5,000 intact objects which amazed the world. This tomb would also contain a secret room where perhaps the mummy of Queen Nefertiti sleeps.

Egypt has almost 89 million inhabitants and their living conditions, while the pool Mediterranean is being drained due to the global warming, as recalled Jean-Marc Jancovici, are directly impacted by tourism. It is therefore easy to understand the importance of discovering new rooms containing archaeological treasures in the pyramids but also in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings.

Technology is now leading to the creation of new tools that will soon allow Egyptology to make a leap forward. For example, the ScanPyramids project was launched with the aim of unraveling the mystery of construction of the pyramids. Egyptian, Japanese, Canadian and French engineers, scientists and archaeologists will join forces to explore, using non-invasive and non-destructive detection techniques – notably based on rays infrared and the muon of the cosmic rays -, the monuments of Giza and other constructions in Egypt.

Researchers intend to unravel certain mysteries linked to the pyramid of Cheops but also others related to the history of Egypt. What has become of, for example, the mummy of the famous Nefertiti (1370 – 1333 BC), the royal wife of the no less famous Akhenaten (1350 – 1333 BC), the father of Tutankhamun and the first monotheist sovereign of Egypt?

A fascinating hypothesis, but which is not unanimous among Egyptologists, is much talked about today. A few weeks ago, at the request of Mamdouh Eldamaty, Minister for Egyptian Antiquities, measures to thermography by infrared had been carried out in the grave of Tutankhamun. of the abnormalities temperatures had been identified and led the British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves to carry out radar surveys in an attempt to highlight the clean rooms, hidden behind the walls of the tomb.

The tomb of Nefertiti or Ankhkheperourê?

Bingo! A press conference that took place on Saturday November 28, 2015 was the opportunity for Mamdouh Eldamaty to announce that there was a 90% chance that the north wall of the tomb of Tutankhamun would hide a secret room. Radar waves have indeed revealed the presence of a clear discontinuity in the nature of the hard rock surrounding the tomb which should correspond to an empty space beyond this wall. But then, if that is the case, what is he hiding?

For Nicholas Reeves, the Egyptian priests, caught off guard in 1324 BC by the death of the young Tutankhamun, then aged 19, were forced to reopen the tomb of Nefertiti 10 years after his death to bury the pharaoh. Mamdouh Eldamaty leans towards another hypothesis which confirms the arguments of his predecessor. The famous Zahi Hawass indeed recalled that Akhenaten and his queen, Nefertiti, were perceived as heretics by the clergy of Amon when they established a monotheistic cult, that of Aton. Almost all traces of this cult were also erased when the pharaoh died and Tutankhamun was, in a way, the means of re-establishing the cult of Amun. It is difficult to see how the priests would have authorized that two representatives of a religious cult in opposition were buried in the same tomb.

Mamdouh Eldamaty therefore thinks that Egyptologists are more likely to discover the tomb of the eldest daughter of Akhenaten, Merytaton, who may have reigned under the name of Ankhkheperourê, or Kiya, "the noble lady". In any event, if a secret chamber does exist and it contains a member of the royal family (we may know in a few months), it will probably be the most significant archaeological discovery of the XXI^e century.