The latest radar scans of King Tutankhamun's tomb revealed two hidden chambers containing unidentified objects made of both metal and organic materials. It is believed that the objects may represent the long lost remains of Queen Nefertiti.
"It means a rediscovery of Tutankhamun ... for Egypt it is a very big discovery; it could be the discovery of the century," Egypt's antiquities minister Mamdouh el-Damaty announced during a press conference. "It is very important for Egyptian history and for all of the world."
Although experts are not yet sure what exactly lies within the chambers, a second round of radar testing has been scheduled for the end of this month. The hope, they say, is to reconstruct the exact size of the chambers and to figure out the best way to proceed with the investigation.
Japanese specialist Hirokatsu Watanabu led the radar scans of the 3,300-year-old tomb. The two hidden spaces were found on the north and eastern walls of the tomb.
"Furthermore, based on the GPR data, curves that might indicate doors were also detected above the cavities, which can be seen as an entrance to those cavities," al-Damaty added.
Evidence of metal and organic material revealed by the radar scans strongly suggests the presence of another burial. The final resting place of Queen Nefertiti has eluded archaeologists for years. Many speculate she was buried next to Tutankhamun's 3,300-year-old tomb in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor.
Nicholas Reeves, a British Egyptologist at the University of Arizona, published a paper in 2015, arguing that high-resolution images of the tomb's walls show "distinct linear traces," which ultimately led to the discovery of two still unexplored chambers.
According to Reeves, one of these hidden chambers would contain the grave of Queen Nefertiti, wife of King Akhenaten, King Tut's father.
Further, Reeves believes that the tomb of King Tut was not ready when he died unexpectedly at 19 in 1323 B.C. after having ruled a short reign of nine to 10 years. As a result, he was buried quickly in what was originally the tomb of Nefertiti, who died 10 years earlier.
During the press conference, however, al-Damaty did not speculate that the remains might belong to Queen Nefertiti. Nonetheless, the discovery opens more doors to understanding the history of the most famous tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
