New discovery suggests queen Nefertiti was buried in tomb of king Tutankhamun

Reeves’ study, published online by the Amarna Royal Tombs Project, a project he founded in 1998, reveals that after “cautious evaluation” of the scans, he believes there are “two previously unknown” and “untouched” doorways.

Tutankhamun’s tomb may yet give up its greatest secret: the grave of the world’s most lovely woman, Queen Nefertiti. Reeves’s theory offers a neat explanation to this lingering question: King Tut’s tomb was a mere antechamber added onto Nefertiti’s larger burial chamber.

An archaeologist says he may have found evidence that Nefertiti, the former Queen of Egypt, is secretly buried inside Tutankhamun’s tomb.

“Recently published, high-resolution scans of the walls of room J (the Burial Chamber) of Valley of the Kings tomb KV62 (Tutankhamun) reveal, beneath the plastered surfaces of the painted scenes, distinct linear traces”, Nicholas Reeves argues in a report.

The small size of Tutankhamun’s tomb has baffled researchers, given his eminence.

If true, Reeves wrote that this could explain why King Tut’s burial chamber is smaller than would be expected for the pharaoh, because it was “originally intended for a private individual”.

“Each piece of evidence on its own is not conclusive, but put it all together and it’s hard to avoid my conclusion”.

Inside he spotted the “ghosts” of two doorways that had been blocked up by the tomb builders thousands of years ago. “If I’m wrong I’m wrong, but if I’m right this is potentially the biggest archaeological discovery ever made”, he said. Well, this is the ancient Egyptians we’re talking about.

Well, actually, he says it could be that the burial complex King Tutankhamun was laid to rest in was initially built for his mother, Queen Nefertiti.

She is famous for her beauty, and her powerful reign.

Other experts have claimed Nefertiti, the wife and chief consort of King Akhenaten, was the boy’s mum, and also a cousin of the king.

Joyce Tyldesley, senior lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Manchester, said Dr Reeves’ hypothesis was worthy of serious consideration. One told The Times he wouldn’t be shocked to find the tomb had additional rooms but said it wouldn’t have been Nefertiti’s original resting place.

“At the time of Nefertiti’s burial… there had surely been no intention that Tutankhamen would in due course occupy this same tomb”. Some believe she was buried in Amarna, an ancient capital city founded by Pharaoh Akhenaten.

A picture taken on November 4, 2007 shows the face of Pharaoh Tutankhamen displayed in a climate-controlled case at his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, close to Luxor, 500 kms south of Cairo.