In response to news about discovery of the mummy of Queen Nefertiti, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) Dr Zahi Hawas criticised British scientist Dr Joann Fletcher. Dr Fletcher, a member of a British archaeological team working in Egypt, recently claimed that the team from York University in England unearthed Nefertiti from a secret tomb (KV35) in the Valley of Kings. Nefertiti, which means 'the beautiful woman has come', was the wife of the 'heretic' Pharaoh Akhenaten, and was long considered to have been the most powerful woman in Ancient Egypt. Her tomb was found near that of king Tutankhamen, the teenager who ruled Egypt in the 14th century BC, and whose tomb was first discovered in 1922. Virtually all traces of Nefertiti and her husband (1353-1336 BC) were erased after his unsuccessful attempt to supplant polytheism with the worship of the Sun god Aton -- one of the earliest known practices of monotheism. Nefertiti, whose limestone bust is in the Berlin Museum, had an unusually high status during her husband's reign. Like her husband, Nefertiti's name was erased from historical records and her likenesses were defaced after her death.

The mummy was first discovered in 1898 and ignored. Dr Fletcher was drawn to the tomb again during an expedition in June 2002, after she had identified a Nubian-style wig worn by royal women during Akhenaten's reign. The wig was found near three unidentified mummies of two women and a boy. The news, which Dr Fletcher was trying to spread, and which was broadcast on the Discovery Channel, prompted the SCA chief to investigate the claims of the British scientist, calling them "mere lies".

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starlyte,
Thank you for posting this. I am still sitting here, shaking my head.
It is disconcerting, to say the least, that Discovery Channel and Time Magazine would go to this expense and degree of investigation, and learn that perhaps there are many doubts as to it's authenticity.

Call me a skeptic, but I am wondering if Egypt is embarrassed by the find?
Maybe that isn't fair, but it certainly makes me wonder.

I have to agree with you Nancy,

If this Dr.Fletcher indeed fabricated this story it would not be a pleasant thing for egyptologists at all. Why else but fame would someone go to that extent to lie. It is truly disturbing.

I know I'm a little late on this...partly because I didn't know the topic was here until I saw some peep reading it on the online list...but I watched the documentary on this, and all the girl proved was that she was seeing what she wanted to believe.

There was no solid evidence present whatsoever that the mummy she found was Nefertiti at all...she merely assumed it was, because she wanted to be right. All she had were assumptions, and that's about it. The only 'evidence' she came up with was flimsy at best, and the whole thing smacked of "this is Nefertiti, because I say so."

She proved it was a female mummy...she proved it was somewhere around the age Nefertiti was assumed to have been...that doesn't exactly narrow it down, does it? The documentary seemed to be an excuse to tell the story about Nefertiti, and the girl and her little college trip were just thrown in to fill up time.