Hieroglyphics hidden in the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen have strengthened the belief that the tomb could contain a door to the tomb of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, according to a world-renowned British Egyptologist.
Cartouches depicting Tutankhamen, known in the modern world as King Tut, being buried by his successor Ay were painted over cartouches of Tutankhamen burying Nefertiti, according to Nicholas Reeves, a former curator in the British Museum’s Department of Egyptian Antiquities.
‘SOMETHING OUT OF AN INDIANA JONES MOVIE’: ANCIENT BURIAL CAVE FOUND IN ISRAEL
“Close inspection of Ay’s cartouches reveals clear, underlying traces of an earlier name — that of Tutankhamen,” Reeves told the Guardian. “In its original version, this scene had shown Tutankhamen performing the funerary ritual for the tomb’s original owner, his immediate predecessor Nefertiti.”
The new evidence supports the theory that Tut’s tomb lies in the outer section of the larger tomb occupied by Nefertiti, which has still not been uncovered.
On the tomb’s north wall, the cartouches depict Ay holding a ceremonial adze and performing the “opening the mouth” ritual of the mummy that would restore Tut’s five senses.
The door is believed to be between the north and eastern walls of the tomb, with the eastern wall constituting a false wall. However, conflicting surveys since 2015 have been unable to prove whether anything is behind the wall.
“While those reliant upon automated filtering to remove extraneous ‘noise’ have declared that they see nothing in their results, others, processing the data in a more considered manner, perceive the north wall’s eastern half to indeed be construction rather than bedrock,” Reeves said.
Archaeologists have been puzzled by the tomb of Tutankhamen, which was considered small for an important pharaoh, Reeves said. However, Tut died unexpectedly at the age of 19, in 1324 B.C., which meant that he needed to be buried quickly. The tomb was discovered a century ago by British archaeologist Howard Carter.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The evidence will be included in Reeves’s upcoming book, The Complete Tutankhamen, which will be published by Thames & Hudson next month. Reeves has worked extensively as an archaeologist in and around Tut’s tomb, according to the outlet.
