The burial mask of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun is shown during the 'Tutanchamun - Sein Grab und die Schaetze' Exhibition Preview at Kleine Olympiahalle on April 2, 2015 in Munich, Germany. (Hannes Magerstaedt/Getty Images)
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A detailed look at high-resolution scans of King Tutankhamen's tomb might have revealed hidden rooms, according to a noted Egyptologist. And if true, he said it could be "the biggest archaeological discovery ever made."
Nicholas Reeves, a residential scholar at the University of Arizona's School of Anthropology and former curator for the British Museum's Department of Egyptian Antiquities, scrutinized scans taken by art-replication specialists Factum Arte in 2014. He wrote in a study published last month that these scans provide "immediate, desk-based access to the smallest iconographic detail and brushstroke of the KV 62 scenes." KV 62 being King Tut's tomb.
A lone tourist walks through the Valley of the Kings on October 23, 2013 in Luxor, Egypt. The Valley houses scores of Pharonic tombs, including the fabled tombs of King Tutankhamen, King Seti I and King Ramses II. (Ed Giles/Getty Images)
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.
"The implications are extraordinary: for, if digital appearance translates into physical reality, it seems we are now faced not merely with the prospect of a new, Tutankhamun-era storeroom to the west; to the north appears to be signalled a continuation of tomb KV 62, and within these uncharted depths an earlier royal interment that of Nefertiti herself, celebrated consort, co-regent, and eventual successor of pharaoh Akhenate," Reeves wrote.
The study details why Reeves believes there are hidden doors within Tutankhamen's tomb and also why he believes Nefertiti could also lie within. Some believe Queen Nefertiti, the wife of Akhenaten who was named as his co-regent, ruled the empire after her husband's death, before Tutankhamen officially took the throne.
The bust of Egyptian beauty Queen Nefertiti is on display at Neues Museum on September 10, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. The bust is a 3400-year-old painted limestone bust of Nefertiti, the Great Royal wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaton and is one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt. (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
After her death, Reeves wrote, "[r]esponsibility for the subsequent funeral fell to her immediate successor, Tutankhamun." Reeves went on that he believes that KV 62 was originally intended for Nefertiti alone.
The burial mask of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen is shown during the 'Tutanchamun - Sein Grab und die Schaetze' Exhibition Preview at Kleine Olympiahalle on April 2, 2015 in Munich, Germany. (Hannes Magerstaedt/Getty Images)
"At the time of Nefertiti's burial within KV 62 there had surely been no intention that Tutankhamun would in due course occupy this same tomb," Reeves wrote. "That thought would not occur until the king's early and unexpected death a decade later. With no tomb yet dug for pharaoh's sole use, KV 62 was reopened and accessed up to and including chamber J. This restricted space was then physically enlarged to receive a second burial, with room J — the notional 'well' of Nefertiti's tomb — reconfigured to become Tutankhamun's Burial Chamber, or 'House of Gold.'"
When Howard Carter first discovered King Tut's tomb in 1922, Reeves wrote that he would have lacked the technology to see what could be hidden doors beneath paintings, assuming that the "oddly positioned rock-cut niches as evidence that the Burial Chamber's walls were completely solid."
Reeves said that, of course, his speculation would need to be confirmed by an on-the-ground, detailed study, which he suggests should be "one of Egyptology's highest priorities."
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. Egypt is to unveil on February 17, 2010 results of DNA tests carried out on the mummy of the enigmatic boy-king Tutankhamen in a bid to unravel the mystery concerning his lineage. (CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP/Getty Images)
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." What's more, Reeves noted that other researchers believe many of the objects in Tut's tomb were "recycled" from previous kings.
According to the Economist, archaeologist Kent Weeks called Reeves' hypothesis "a fascinating argument," and said research going forward would first include a scan for hollow spaces behind the walls.
"If I’m wrong, I’m wrong, but if I’m right this is potentially the biggest archaeological discovery ever made," Reeves told the Economist.
Reeves also posed a hypothesis a few years ago that King Tut's famous gold headdress was not originally fashioned for him, but for Nefertiti, as well. At that time, Reeves also suggested that "Nefertiti was buried and rests still in the Valley of the Kings, in a tomb which may not only have been preserved intact but perhaps with full pharaonic mortuary equipment to put Tutankhamun’s substantially queenly assemblage to shame."
(H/T: Daily Mail)
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