Earlier in the month, archaeologist Nicholas Reeves declared that he may have discovered where Queen Nefertiti's tomb is. In September, he will be flying to Egypt, invited by the country's minister of antiquities, to prove his theory.
Mamdouh Eldamaty, Egypt's minister of antiquities, said that the decision to invite Reeves came after a long discussion. When the archaeologist arrives in the country in mid-September, he will be facing a group of foreign and Egyptian Egyptologists, scientists and archaeological researchers to discuss his theory and evaluate concrete evidence. Eldamaty added that a debate will be in place during the meeting.
"Based upon the results of the discussion, Reeves and the group will embark on an inspection tour inside Tutankhamun's tomb in Luxor in an attempt to prove Reeve's theory," said Eldamaty, who believes that Nefertiti is buried in the Valley of the Kings. Instead, he thinks the Egyptian queen is buried in the Akhenaten capital, Tel Al-Amarna.
According to Reeves, Queen Nefertiti is buried in a chamber beside King Tutankhamun's tomb after finding the "ghosts" of two entryways in the boy-king's burial room. Aside from Nefertiti's tomb, the entryways are thought to lead to a storage room.
Reeves acknowledges that there is a chance that he may be wrong, but he is also confident that he is likely to be right, especially when there are signs in Tutankhamun's tomb, such as the position of one of the chambers, which is typical for tombs for queens, supporting his theory. Nefertiti also died earlier than the boy-king, meaning she was buried first. As such, it would make sense that King Tutankhamun's tomb is small because it was merely an addition to Nefertiti's.
"Only one female royal of the late 18th Dynasty is known to have received such honors, and that is Nefertiti," said Reeves.
During her time, Nefertiti was referred to as the "Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt" and "Lady of All Women." She was wife and chief consort to Akhenaten but had considerable influence almost comparable to the pharaoh. Despite her prominence, it is still not clear where she was buried.
Results from the inspection will be relayed afterwards but the ministry of antiquities cannot release an official statement on the matter until it has scientific proof.
Photo: Jan Tik | Flickr
