Notes

LUXOR, Egypt — King Tut's tomb may contain hidden chambers, Egypt's antiquities minister said Tuesday. The announcement gives support to a new theory that a queen may be buried in the walls of the 3,300-year-old pharaonic mausoleum.

Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty said he will seek final approval to use radar to inspect the tomb, by bouncing radio waves off of any objects. El-Damaty spoke while touring the burial sites of Tutankhamun, popularly known as King Tut, and other pharaohs in the famed Valley of the Kings.

El-Damaty was visiting Luxor with Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves. The British expert recently speculated that Tutankhamun, who died at the age of 19, may have been hastily buried in an outer chamber of what was originally the tomb of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti.

Peeking Behind The Chamber Walls

Reeves said high-resolution images of what is known as King Tut's tomb "revealed several very interesting features which look not at all natural." He said these include "very, very straight lines which are 90 degrees to the ground, positioned so as to correspond with other features within the tomb."

These features are difficult to see with the naked eye, he said.

Reeves said the plastered walls could conceal two unexplored doorways, one of which perhaps leads to Nefertiti's tomb. He also argued that the design of the tomb suggests it was built for a queen, rather than a king.

"I agree with him that there's probably something behind the walls," el-Damaty said. But he said if anyone is buried there, it is likely Kia, believed by some Egyptologists to be King Tut's mother.

A Tomb Fit For A Queen

Nefertiti, who was famed for her beauty and was the subject of a famous 3,300-year-old limestone bust, was the main wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten. He is noted for introducing an early form of monotheism, or belief in one god, as the ancient Egyptians typically worshipped many gods. Akhenaten was succeeded by a pharaoh referred to as Smenkhare and then followed by Tut, who is widely believed to have been Akhenaten's son.

Reeves argues that Smenkhare is actually Nefertiti.

Reeves said that around the time Smenkhare became pharaoh, Nefertiti seemed to just disappear from history "according to the latest inscriptions just being found." He explained his theory inside King Tut's tomb. "I think that Nefertiti didn't disappear, she simply changed her name."

Tucking Tut Into Occupied Tomb

After Nefertiti died, Tut was responsible for burying her, and then when he died someone decided to build more chambers in the tomb, Reeves suggested. "I think since Nefertiti had been buried a decade before, they remembered that tomb was there and they thought, 'Well, perhaps we can extend it,'" he said.

Any discovery would provide more information about this turbulent time in ancient Egypt.

"Akhenaten's family is full of secrets and historical issues that have yet to be resolved," el-Damaty said.