INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

King Tut’s Tomb May Contain Hidden Chamber

By Tara Dodrill
Published on: 01:00 PST, Sep 30, 2015

King Tut’s tomb may have a hidden chamber. On Tuesday, an antiquities minister in Egypt announced that a queen might be buried inside the walls of the boy king’s 3,300-year-old pharaoh mausoleum.

Egyptian antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty recently toured King Tut’s tomb in the Valley of Kings and inspected burial sites of former pharaohs. el-Damaty said he has requested permission to conduct a radar inspection of the King Tutankhamun tomb. Tut died when he was just 19, causing a rush for the building of the tomb, the minister and British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves stated.

Reeves also feels that King Tut may have been “rushed” into an outer chamber which was initially intended to house Queen Nefertiti, Fox News reports. The archaeologist also stated that a line on the ceiling of Tut’s tomb is proof that a corridor had once existed. The ceiling line reportedly indicates that contrasting materials were used on the same tomb wall.

High-resolution images of King Tut’s tomb “revealed several very interesting features which look not at all natural, features like very, very straight lines which are 90 degrees to the ground, positioned so as to correspond with other features within the tomb,” Reeves added.

Distinguishing the features without the aid of technical equipment is extremely difficult, according to the British Egyptologist. He went on to state that the tomb’s plaster walls might be concealing two “unexplored” doorways. One of the doors could lead to Queen Nefertiti’s tomb. Reeves feels that the design of the tomb indicates the chamber was built for a queen and not a king.

Reeves said the plastered walls could conceal two unexplored doorways, one of which perhaps leads to Nefertiti’s tomb. He also argues 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.

The Egyptian antiquities minister may agree that a mummy could be hidden behind the chamber door, but he feels that the body would likely belong to King Tut’s mother, Kia.

Queen Nefertiti was heralded for her great beauty. Her likeness was captured in a centuries old bust. She was also the “primary wife” of Pharaoh Akhenaten. The pharaoh was credited with introducing the earlier form of monotheism, MSN reports.

Pharaoh Akhenaten was succeeded by a Pharaoh Smenkhkare, and then Tut crowned. Historians largely believe that Tut was the son of Akhenaten. Reeves view differs from such an assumption. He argues that Smenkhare was actually Queen Nefertiti.

“Nefertiti disappears… according to the latest inscriptions just being found,” Reeves said. “I think that Nefertiti didn’t disappear, she simply changed her name.”

Once Queen Nefertiti died, it was King Tut who was responsible for burying her body. After Tutankhamun died, his tomb was extended, the Egyptologists said.

“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 added.

Antiquities minister el-Damaty said that any discovery about the King Tut tomb hidden chamber would help shed some light on the turbulent period in the country’s history. He also noted that Pharaoh Akhenaten’s family was “full of secrets,” and many details about the ancient time have yet to be completely resolved and documented.

What do you think about the King Tut tomb hidden chamber theory? Was Queen Nefertiti actually doubling as a Pharaoh?

[Image via Jaroslav Moravcik / Shutterstock]

Share this article: King Tut’s Tomb May Contain Hidden Chamber
More from Inquisitr