King Tut's Tomb: '90% Chance of hidden chambers'

[Unorthodox]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/17/middleeast/nefertiti-tomb-radar/

King Tut's tomb: '90%' chance of hidden chambers
CNN
By Tiffany Ap and Ian Lee, Updated 8:29 AM ET, Thu March 17, 2016


 
(CNN) — It's a mystery that has evaded the best minds in archeology for decades: the unknown fate of a beautiful queen who ruled over ancient Egypt at the height of its power.

But Nefertiti may be hiding in plain sight, according to a recent theory that's set the Egyptology world buzzing.

Adding credence to that theory, Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mamdouh El Damati announced Thursday that based on preliminary findings from a radar scan of King Tut's tomb site, experts are 90% sure they found two new chambers behind the walls of Tut's resting place.

British archaeologist Nicolas Reeves speculated in August that Nefertiti was buried in one of those chambers.


What's behind King Tut?

The scan also revealed metallic and organic material, El Damati said. Experts plan to do additional scanning at the end of the month to determine the size of the chambers and the thickness of the wall, but there will be no digging unless authorities are sure the chambers exist, the minister added.

El Damati has always been skeptical that Nefertiti is in a chamber behind King Tut. He says he believes there's female royalty behind the boy king, but not Nefertiti.


'Ghost' doorways

After extensive analysis of high resolution images published online last year, Reeves spotted cracks in the walls that could indicate two previously unrecognized "ghost" doorways lay behind.

The size of Tutankhamun's tomb -- "less than appropriate" for the final resting place of an Egyptian king -- added more weight to the view. Reeves' hunch is that its unusual size and layout is because it is an extension of an earlier tomb originally designed for a queen, and was repurposed upon Tutankhamun's untimely death at 19 years old.

Since September, Reeves and his team have been using state-of-the-art surveying equipment to look for a secret doorway on the northern wall that would reveal a previously unknown chamber.


Who was Nefertiti?

Historians say Nefertiti ruled Egypt alongside her husband Amenhotep IV. But after reigning for 12 years she appeared to have vanished. Some Egyptologists believe she became co-regent under a new name, while others think she may have died.



A British Egyptologist and archaelogist believes he may have solved the millenia-old mystery of where Queen Nefertiti is buried.



Nicolas Reeves believes Nefertiti, an Egyptian queen who reigned for 12 years before vanishing without a trace 3,000 years ago, is buried in a hidden chamber inside the tomb of King Tutankhamun.



King Tut died at 17, but his fame is derived from his resting place being found largely intact in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in 1922.



"I had no preconceived notion that Nefertiti was buried here. To be honest, for some time, I fought the conclusion because it seemed so extraordinary," Reeves told CNN. "But that is where the evidence seems to be pointing."



A picture taken on September 28 shows the golden sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun in his burial chamber in near Luxor.



Reeves says the first clues are the simple but vivid hieroglyphics adorning the yellow walls. One section depicts what appear to be a mummy and a pharaoh.



Reeves claims the artwork found inside King Tut's tomb are similar to artworks found elsewhere depicting the boy king and Nefertiti. But he says the artwork also camouflages cracks in the walls that could indicate two previously unrecognized "ghost" doorways that may lay behind the King's burial chamber.


The search for her tomb has been a long and drawn out process -- due in no small part to the extra care needed to avoid damaging the historical site.

"We must find a way to protect the tomb of Tutankhamun," El Damati told CNN in October. "Does that mean we will dig from above, below or from the side? We don't know."

King Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. Although Tutankhamun was a relatively minor pharoah, his tomb has been a treasure trove for experts and remains the most intact tomb ever unearthed.

Other ideas floated for who might occupy a possible chamber include Kia, said to be Tutankhamun's mother, or other family members.

But if it is Nefertiti's final resting place, experts say the finding would be monumental.

"When we find Nefertiti, I think it will be more important than the discovery of King Tutankhamun himself," said El Damati.

Well, that sucks, can't grab the pics...

video at link. 

[Buster's Uncle]

Fixed what I could - usually, with shots like the map/diagram near the top, googling the title and going to images turns up a copy you can get at to link, but not this time...