Archaeology & History

New evidence points to presence of hidden chamber in King Tut's tomb

By T.K. Randall
September 26, 2022

Image: King Tut Burial Mask
Credit: Mark Fischer / CC BY-SA 2.0 (adapted) The search for a hidden room within the tomb of King Tutankhamun began back in 2015 when British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves discovered what he believed to be the outline of at least one hidden door built into the walls of the tomb's interior - an entrance to what could even be the long-lost burial chamber of Queen Nefertiti - the wife of the pharoah Akhenaten and stepmother to King Tut.

The findings prompted Egyptian authorities to conduct multiple sets of ground-penetrating radar scans and while some of these seemed to find possible evidence of hidden chambers, the results were ultimately deemed inconclusive.

Now though, new evidence has surfaced in the form of hidden hieroglyphics on the walls of Tutankhamun's tomb.

The cartouches, which had been painted over by depictions of Tutankhamun being buried by his successor, originally appeared to show the burial of Queen Nefertiti."I can now show that, under the cartouches of Ay, are cartouches of Tutankhamun himself, proving that that scene originally showed Tutankhamun burying his predecessor, Nefertiti," Reeves told The Guardian.

"You would not have had that decoration in the tomb of Tutankhamun."

Reeves maintains that this represents evidence that Tutankhamun's tomb is merely the outer section of a much larger complex which still contains the burial chamber of Queen Nefertiti.

He is not the only expert to think this either, as others - such as radar specialist George Ballard - also believe that there is a hidden entrance somewhere within King Tut's burial chamber.

Actually proving this to be the case beyond any reasonable doubt, however, remains easier said than done.

Source: The Guardian

Tags: King Tutankhamun, Nefertiti