Egypt says 90% chance of hidden rooms in Tut tomb

It’ll be hard to prove that it’s Nefertiti’s tomb without getting inside.

Speaking of the development, he said: “We said earlier there was a 60% chance there is something behind the walls”.

Further investigations are now needed and the new evidence will go to Japan for analysis. “But now, after the initial reading of the scans, we are saying now it’s 90 per cent likely there is something behind the walls”.

Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut, is perhaps the most famous of Ancient Egypt’s pharaohs, due in large part to the 1922 discovery of his almost intact tomb.

The findings, which lend credence to British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves’ theory that Queen Nefertiti’s tomb is hidden behind that of King Tutankhamun, may lead to “one of the most important finds of the century”, Damaty said.

The announcement was made Saturday after a radar scan of a wall in Tut’s tomb showed there could be another hidden chamber on the other side.

Reeves reached his theory after high-resolution images discovered what he said were straight lines in King Tut’s tomb. The results are expected to be announced in a month.

Thus, he was entombed in what was initially the tomb of Nefertiti, who’d died 10 years before in a hurry.

He believes that, Tutankhamun, who died unexpectedly, was buried hurriedly in an underground chamber probably not intended for him.

DELVE DEEPER: Is this Queen Nefertiti’s final resting place? The entryway into her tomb was subsequently sealed and painted, he said. She actively supported her husband Akhenaten – Tutankhamun’s father – who temporarily converted ancient Egypt to monotheism by imposing the cult of sun god Aton.

Work inside the tomb will not begin until all the data from the radar and infrared devices are carefully analyzed by Japanese experts, according to Antiquities Minister Mamdouh Eldamaty.

“Nefertiti will never be buried in the Valley of the Kings”, he told AFP.

Akhenaten is credited with temporarily turning Egyptians to a monotheistic worship of the sun god, Aton.

The scans were then used to produce a facsimile of the 3,300-year-old tomb near the site of the original Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

Nefertiti vanished 3,000 years ago.