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Search for Egypt's Nefertiti gains new momentum

 
Published Sept. 30, 2015

LUXOR, Egypt — 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," Reeves said during the visit.

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.