Archaeologists who suspect a hidden complex beyond the tomb of Tutankhamun not only exists, but may hold the last resting place of Queen Nefertiti, are seeking permission to carry out searches after new evidence gave weight to the theory.
A geological survey suggests there may be a substantial passageway and several chambers beyond Tutankhamun’s cramped tomb, known as KV62, in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt.
It is hoped it could reveal the burial site of Queen Nefertiti, who lived more than 3,000 years ago, was the wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten and thought by many to have been Tutankhamun’s mother. A bust of Nefertiti, discovered in 1912 during excavations of a sculptor's workshop, is held at the Neues Museum in the German capital, Berlin, and is the subject of a campaign for it to be returned to Egypt.
The team behind the latest research, which has taken three years and was led by Egypt’s former antiquities minister Mamdou Eldamaty, has applied to the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities for permission to drill an 8-centimetre hole through the limestone hill above so miniature cameras can gain a view of what lies inside.
There is genuine hope that beyond the walls of KV62 is a “hidden royal monument capable of illuminating one of the most obscure and controversial chapters of ancient Egyptian history”, Mr Eldamaty said in the team’s conclusions, published in the Occasional Papers of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project.
Co-author Nicholas Reeves suggested in 2015 that Nefertiti could be buried in a secret chamber of the tomb, which was revealed to the world in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter. He has spent the past decade trying to prove it, including several radar studies.
The team has written that the results of an unprecedented range of scientific techniques, including radar, thermal imaging and measurements of deeply buried archaeological structures “provide additional scientific support for the view that the structure of KV62 predates the interment of Tutankhamun and is likely to be more extensive than traditionally understood”.
Former Egyptian antiquities minister
The range of methods “has made it possible to construct a far more nuanced and reliable understanding of the tomb’s true structure”, they said.
Dr Reeves said Carter was puzzled by the small scale of Tutankhamun’s tomb – four chambers, with only the burial one decorated – that did not fit with a typical 18th dynasty burial site. Traditional theories say it was a private tomb adapted at pace to accommodate Tutankhamun after his unexpected death aged 19, when his crypt had not been built.
Dr Reeves’ theory is that the original tomb was for a queen and only the outermost elements were adapted for Tutankhamun.
He said the chamber was not conceived for Tutankhamun but was originally a large, regal tomb with a decorated wall hiding passages beyond. Based on layout and decoration, he said the occupant of these extra rooms had to be female, of pharaonic status and to have been Tutankhamun’s predecessor – namely Nefertiti.
Mr Eldamaty said although the investigation has not yet reached a final conclusion, it strongly indicates the existence of at least one further storage chamber and a “royal funerary continuation beyond its north wall”.
He wrote: “Even if this hidden complex does not ultimately prove to be the burial place of Nefertiti herself, the evidence increasingly points towards a connection with the Amarna royal family and the immediate circle of Akhenaten’s court – a period whose historical and funerary record remains among the most enigmatic in ancient Egyptian history.”
Should it be confirmed, he said “it would represent not merely the most important discovery in the Valley of the Kings since the uncovering of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922; it could potentially rank among the most transformative archaeological discoveries of the modern era, fundamentally reshaping our understanding of the political, religious, and dynastic history of the Amarna Period itself”.
