CAIRO (Reuters) - The mummy a British Egyptologist says could be the ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, renowned for her beauty, is much more likely to be a man, Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass says.

Nefertiti, wife and co-ruler with the pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother of legendary boy King Tutankhamun, has long been considered one of the most powerful women of ancient Egypt.

Joann Fletcher, a mummification specialist from the University of York in England, said in June there was a "strong possibility" her team had unearthed Nefertiti from a tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in Luxor. The Discovery Channel publicised the find in a television programme aired this month.

But Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Hawass, expressed doubts about the find and said there were questions over the gender of the mummy.

"I'm sure that this mummy is not a female," Hawass told Reuters at his office in the Egyptian capital.

A report submitted to Egypt's SCA from the University of York expedition leader Don Brothwell said of the mummy: "There has been some confusion as to the sex of this individual."

Full Article LINK

And another article regarding the same topic, with just a little bit different information.

Report affirms 'Nefertiti' mummy is a male

Reports by Egyptian anthropologists describing a mummy claimed to be that of Queen Nefertiti, say that it is actually that of a male in his late teens! This refutes British archaeologist Dr. Joann Fletcher's claim that x-rays had proved that the mummy found in the side chamber of the burial chamber of King Amenhotep II in Luxor, could be that of Queen Nefertiti.

Dr Zahi Hawas, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA), said that the issue was opened last February when Dr. Fletcher based her analysis on the outer shape of the mummy.

The position of the hands on the chest implied that the deceased had held the royal sceptre while x-rays revealed gold fragments on the chest which probably fell there when the mummy's necklace was stolen. Studies indicated that the deceased had led a healthy life which implied that he or she had belonged to high social stratum.

Full Article LINK

Oh good, something else for Zahi Hawass to moan about, he's not going to be happy unitl he has every egyptian thing back in egypt.

Thanks for the thread Starlyte, I like egyptology.

I'm sure they'll learn more when they x-ray it, but I thought
they had done extensive x-rays already. I can't believe they could think
it was possibly a male, but it does sound like it could be Ankhesenpaaten,
if it's not Nefertiti.

I really love anything to do with ancient egypt, my mum was invited to see an Egyptian sarcophagus opened and was one of the first to see the mummy at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter in 1969. She became hooked on Egptian history and it's rubbed off on me. So I was quite excited when they first found the tomb and thought they'd found Nefretiti and its become a bit of a dissapointment to now find that it isn't her. But I hope they do find out who it is and continue the hunt for Nefretiti.

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) -- The mummy a British Egyptologist says could be the ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, renowned for her beauty, is much more likely to be a man, Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said.

Nefertiti, wife and co-ruler with the pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother of legendary boy King Tutankhamun, has long been considered one of the most powerful women of ancient Egypt.

Joann Fletcher, a mummification specialist from the University of York in England, said in June there was a "strong possibility" her team had unearthed Nefertiti from a tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in Luxor. The Discovery Channel publicized the find in a television program aired this month.

But Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Hawass, expressed doubts Saturday about the find and said there were questions over the gender of the mummy.

FULL ARTICLE

Edit - Merged your post with Starlyte's one on the subject of the latest discoveries regarding the remains of what may not be Queen Nefertiti after all.

-SaRuMaN