U.K. Scientist May Have Found Nefertiti Mummy

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U.K. Scientist May Have Found Nefertiti Mummy Mon Jun 9, 3:40 PM ET By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A British Egyptologist announced on Monday her team may have identified the mummy of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, the wife and co-ruler with pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother to legendary boy King Tutankhamun.

Joann Fletcher, a mummification specialist from the University of York in England who led the expedition, said her team may have unearthed Nefertiti from a secret chamber in tomb KV35 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

Nefertiti, which means "the beautiful woman has come," has long been considered one of the most powerful women of ancient Egypt. Her tomb was found near that of King Tut, the teen-age king who ruled Egypt in the 14th century BC.

"After 12 years of searching for Nefertiti it was probably the most amazing experience of my life," said Fletcher in a statement released by the Washington-based Discovery Channel, which funded the expedition.

"Although we can only suggest the identity as a strong possibility, the findings certainly have some wide-ranging implications for Egyptology," she added.

Nefertiti, whose likeness was sculpted in a limestone bust now in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, had an unusually high status during her husband's reign. Like her husband, Nefertiti's name was erased from historical records and her likeness defaced after her death.

Fletcher was drawn to the tomb during an expedition in June 2002 after she identified a Nubian-style wig worn by royal women during Akhenaten's reign. The wig was found near three unidentified mummies, two of them women and one a young boy.

One of the mummies, now believed to be Nefertiti, had a swan-like neck comparable to the queen, despite post-mortem blows to her face.

Fletcher also found other physical links, including the impression of a tight-fitting brow-band she once wore, a double-pierced ear lobe and shaved head. Nefertiti was one of only two of Egypt's royal women believed to have worn two earrings in each ear.

In an examination of the mummy in February 2003, scientists discovered a ripped-off right arm bent up with its fingers still clutching a royal scepter. Only pharaohs or queens were allowed to have their arms bent that way.

This evidence, including jewelry within the smashed-in chest cavity, fueled Fletcher's original belief that the mummy was Nefertiti.

Discovery Channel is running a two-hour program on Aug. 17 on the expedition.

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It's no great secret that the priests of the "old religion" (polytheism) in ancient Egypt bore no love for Akhenaton's monotheism, and forced Tutankhaton to change his name (Tutankhamen) and restore the ancient beliefs.

What is strange is that Akhenaton's mummy was not defaced or damaged post mortem, as apparently was the case for Nefertiti's remains. It is also unclear if "King Tut" died of natural causes or was murdered (his mummy shows a skull fracture); but his wife was clearly dispatched prematurely, as were his two infant children, from the remains found in Tut's tomb.

The old priests held almost as much power as the Pharaohs themselves, and obviously were loath to have been dismissed by Akhenaton's dream...this may explain the state of the remains of his family members.

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Just now, I saw that some experts are disputing the claim...they believe that the mummified remains in question are those of a teenage girl, perhaps 16, not a queen who died at the age of 30 or so.

More as it develops.