Jolie Rouge
06-11-2003, 10:08 PM
The mummy of Egypt's Queen Nefertiti, who was the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten and the stepmother of King Tutankhamun, may have been found in a secret tomb chamber in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in Luxor. The mummy was first found in 1898, but it was not identified then as Nefertiti. The mummy, which was in the tomb with two other mummies, had been mutilated. The arms were severed and the face was smashed.
One year ago, a British team with funding from the Discovery Channel, gained access to the tomb after extensive negotiations with Egyptian authorities. Joann Fletcher, a mummification specialist from the University of York in England, admits the evidence is only circumstantial that the mummy is Nefertiti, whose whereabouts has been an enduring archaeological mystery. Since Egyptian authorities will not allow DNA testing on the mummy, the mystery cannot be fully solved.
Why they think the mummy is Nefertiti, based on reports from Reuters, TIME, and the BBC News Online:
--It has a swan-like neck that is comparable to Nefertiti's.
--The head has the impression of a tight-fitting brow-band, which Nefertiti wore.
--The head is shaved. Nefertiti is thought to have shaved her head so she could more easily wear the brow-band.
--A Nubian-style wig worn by royal women during Akhenaten's reign was found near the mummy. Because Nefertiti shaved her head, she was known to wear wigs.
--One ear lobe is double-pierced. Nefertiti was only one of two Egyptian royal women to wear two earrings in one ear.
--The mummy's right arm was ripped off. But when it is placed in the proper position on the mummy, the arm is bent with the fingers still clutching a royal scepter. Only pharaohs or queens where allowed to have their arms bent this way.
One year ago, a British team with funding from the Discovery Channel, gained access to the tomb after extensive negotiations with Egyptian authorities. Joann Fletcher, a mummification specialist from the University of York in England, admits the evidence is only circumstantial that the mummy is Nefertiti, whose whereabouts has been an enduring archaeological mystery. Since Egyptian authorities will not allow DNA testing on the mummy, the mystery cannot be fully solved.
Why they think the mummy is Nefertiti, based on reports from Reuters, TIME, and the BBC News Online:
--It has a swan-like neck that is comparable to Nefertiti's.
--The head has the impression of a tight-fitting brow-band, which Nefertiti wore.
--The head is shaved. Nefertiti is thought to have shaved her head so she could more easily wear the brow-band.
--A Nubian-style wig worn by royal women during Akhenaten's reign was found near the mummy. Because Nefertiti shaved her head, she was known to wear wigs.
--One ear lobe is double-pierced. Nefertiti was only one of two Egyptian royal women to wear two earrings in one ear.
--The mummy's right arm was ripped off. But when it is placed in the proper position on the mummy, the arm is bent with the fingers still clutching a royal scepter. Only pharaohs or queens where allowed to have their arms bent this way.