Archaeologists close to revealing Nefertiti’s true face

Mummified remains of queen widely regarded as epitome of beauty set to be unearthed in Egypt

WITH her slender neck, wide eyes and high cheekbones, the Egyptian queen Nefertiti has long been viewed as the embodiment of female beauty.

Now, archaeologists may be close to identifying her mummy and revealing the true face of the monarch.

Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, the former minister of state for antiquities affairs in Egypt, has been excavating in tombs called KV21 and KV35 in the Valley of the Kings, in modern-day Luxor.

He claims to have found two unnamed mummies, believing one is Nefertiti and the other her daughter, Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun’s wife.

Prof Hawass told Newsweek: “In October we will be able to announce the discovery of the mummy of Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun’s wife, and her mother, Nefertiti. I am sure that I will reveal which of the two unnamed mummies could be Nefertiti.”

Dr Hawass said if DNA analysis identified Nefertiti’s mummy definitively, Egypt would commission CT scans of the head that would “reveal the most complete and accurate image of the queen”. He added: “We have barely found 30 per cent of everything that is underground. Modern Egypt is built on the ancient. And that is why the heritage that remains hidden is immense.”

Nefertiti reigned during Egypt’s 18th dynasty and lived between roughly 1370 and 1330 BC, when Egypt was at its most powerful and prosperous.

But she died during a period of social turmoil, which led to her grave site being lost. She ruled alongside her husband Amenhotep IV, who converted the country from polytheism to a monotheistic cult dedicated to the sun’s disc, named Aton. Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaten, meaning “beneficial to Aten”.

The changes proved unpopular, and after his death Tutankhamun restored the pantheon of gods and destroyed or defaced monuments associated with Akhenaten. During this period, details of their burials were lost.

Nefertiti died in 1331 BC and was supposed to be buried with her husband in the royal tomb of Akhenaten, but neither body was found there and it assumed they were taken back to the Valley of the Kings. There was speculation that she was interred in a chamber behind a concealed door in the tomb of Tutankhamun.

But in 2018, the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry announced that a three-year investigation involving radar scans of the tomb proved conclusively that there was no secret room.

There was also speculation that Nefertiti was one of two mummies found by archaeologist Giovanni Belzoni in 1817 while excavating tomb KV21 in the Valley of the Kings.

But later DNA testing has proven inconclusive and Dr Hawass believes Nefertiti and Ankhesenamun could be buried elsewhere.