Archaeologists hopeful about finding tomb of Queen Nefertiti in this burial site

Egyptologist Dr Zahi Hawass has shared details on his excavation programs and mentioned that he is looking for Queen Nefertiti's tomb

By Bhaswati Guha Majumder
November 24, 2019 18:31 +08

Did you Know some of these interesting facts

If you go through history book and records, you will find that Queen Nefertiti was addressed as one of the most powerful as well as mysterious women in the history of Egypt. She was the queen alongside Pharaoh Akhenaten from 1353 to 1336 BC and may have ruled in Egypt after her husband's death. But over the years, archaeologists were trying to find her grave, which has never been discovered.

Excavation to find the Nefertiti's tomb

Recently, the famous Egyptologist Dr Zahi Hawass has mentioned that things may change as recent research has shown evidence of previously unknown burial site, near Amenhotep III's tomb, WV22, for the royals of Egypt.

Dr Hawass told Express.co.uk that he is currently working in the Valley of the Kings where he believes that he will find the tomb of Nefertiti. He mentioned that through this current excavation programs, which also includes East Valley, he hopes to unearth tombs of all the Queens of the 18th Dynasty, sons and daughters of the kings who were buried in the archaeological site.

Queen Nefertiti

Egypt faced tremendous cultural upheaval during her reign, as Akhenaten reoriented Egypt's religious and political structure around the worship of the sun god Aten.
Nefertiti may have been the daughter of Ay, a top adviser who would go on to become pharaoh after the demise of King Tut's in 1323 BC but as per an alternate theory she was the princess from the Mittani kingdom in northern Syria.
The ancient queen is best known for her painted sandstone bust, which was rediscovered in 1913 and became a global icon of feminine beauty and power.
She had given birth to six daughters, her husband began taking other wives, including his own sister, with whom he fathered the future King Tut, commonly known as Tutankhamen. Her third daughter Ankhesenpaaten would eventually become her half-brother Tutankhamen's queen.

King Tut golden mask — King Tutankhamun's funerary golden mask is housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo Reuters

It should be noted that pharaoh Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen was barely known to the modern world until 1922 when British archaeologist Howard Carter entered the boy pharaoh's tomb the Valley of the Kings that was sealed for over 3,200 years. Recently 150 artefacts were sent from Egypt to London following the opening of the new exhibition, "Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh" where these ancient artefacts will be on display till May 3, 2020.