Archaeologists Think Nefertiti's Remains Might Be Hidden in King Tut's Tomb

The tomb of ancient Egypt's boy-king Tutankhamun contains passages to two hidden chambers, including what one British archaeologist believes is the last resting place of Queen Nefertiti, based on new information revealed in high-resolution scans.

British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves told a news conference in Cairo on Thursday that he and his team believe that Tutankhamun's mausoleum was originally occupied by Nefertiti, who is thought by experts to have been his stepmother, and that she has lain undisturbed behind what he believes is a partition wall for more than 3,000 years. Nefertiti, whose chiseled cheek bones and regal beauty were immortalized in a 3,300-year-old bust now in a Berlin museum, died in the 14th Century BC. Her name means "the beautiful one has come."

"If it is true, we are facing a discovery that would overshadow the discovery of Tutankhamun himself," Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty told reporters. "This would be the most important discovery of the 21st Century."

Reeves said that radar and thermal imaging could help establish whether secret rooms were indeed hidden behind Tut's burial chamber and what they might hold. Damaty said that the next step would be to carry out radar studies at the site, which could begin in the next one to three months.

King Tut, as he is affectionately known, died around 1323 BC. His intact tomb, complete with his famous golden burial mask, was discovered in the Valley of the Kings in 1922 by another British Egyptologist, Howard Carter.

Experts have long sought to understand why Tut's tomb was smaller than that of other pharaohs and why its shape was more in keeping with that of the Egyptian queens of the time. In the meanwhile, Egyptologists have been uncertain about where Nefertiti died and was buried.

Nefertiti was the primary wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, who introduced a form of monotheism to Egypt in the 14th Century BC. Many Egyptologists believe Tutankhamun was Akhenaten's child with his sister Kia. Tut himself is believed to have married his own half-sister Ankhesenamun, one of the six daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.

Nefertiti is believed by many experts to have survived her husband and ruled Egypt herself as pharaoh under the name Neferneferuaten. Some have suggested that she might be buried in Amarna, where her bust was found in 1912. If her tomb is found intact, it would likely contain hidden treasures and shed new light on a turbulent period rich in artistic and architectural accomplishments.

Reeves developed his theory about Nefertiti's resting place after studying the high-resolution scans that he said suggest the presence of two rooms hidden behind the northern and western walls of Tut's burial chamber. He thinks one is a Tutankhamun-era storage area and that the other may contain the remains of Nefertiti.

But some archaeologists have urged caution, noting that the evidence remains scant. Others believe that Nefertiti's mummy was found in 1898 and already lies in the Egyptian Museum.

"The idea that one [room] might lead to a pre-existing burial chamber, let alone that of Nefertiti, is pure speculation," Aidan Dodson, an Egyptologist at Bristol University, told Reuters.

Damaty, who recently returned from a tour of the Valley of the Kings with Reeves and other senior Egyptian experts, said he believed there was a hidden chamber that could contain a royal woman's remains, but thought it was likely to be Tut's mother.