This is the legendary Egyptian beauty Queen Nefertiti — seen for the first time in 3,300 years. Archaeologists have reconstructed the ancient ruler’s face after discovering her mummified body. A team lead by British Egyptologist Dr Joann Fletcher — who had been hunting Nefertiti for 12 years — found her in a secret chamber with two other bodies inside a tomb in Luxor’s Valley of the Kings. The expert, from York University, said: “I couldn’t believe it the moment I first saw her. “It was probably the most amazing experience of my life.” Nefertiti, whose name means “the beautiful or perfect one has come”, was the stepmother of boy king Tutankhamun. She was famous as a powerful beauty long before Cleopatra, and admired for her high cheekbones, full lips and swan-like neck. The reconstruction shows her with her head shaved to wear the crown when she ruled with husband Akhenaten around 1350 BC. When he died, Nefertiti is thought to have ruled for three years as the first female pharaoh before her death aged about 30. The pair were unpopular and traces of them were all but removed from history. Nefertiti’s story is told on the Discovery Channel, September 7.
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