Experts scan for hidden chambers in King Tutankhamun tomb

Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry says archaeologists are starting radar scans of the tomb of famed pharaoh Tutankhamun in the southern city of Luxor.

The ministry said the scans will be carried out over a week to check for the existence of any hidden chambers behind the tomb.

Egypt carried out previous scans as part of the quest but the findings were inconclusive.

The news follows more than two years of speculation after British Egyptologist Dr Nicholas Reeves said he found signs of a hidden doorway in King Tut’s tomb.

At the time, he said one of the secret rooms could be the burial place of the Pharaoh’s stepmother Queen Nefertiti.

Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry says archaeologists are starting radar scans of the tomb of famed pharaoh Tutankhamun (pictured) in the southern city of Luxor

The tomb of King Tut, who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, was discovered in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings, located on the west bank of the Nile river in Luxor.

For many, Tut embodies ancient Egypt’s glory because his tomb was packed with the glittering wealth of the rich 18th Dynasty, which ruled from 1569 to 1315 BC.

Researchers are using ground penetrating radar (GPR) to scan the pharaoh’s chamber for the existence of two chambers rumoured to be hidden behind its walls.

The search is being led by the Polytechnic University Turin, Italy, and will be the third time in the past two years researchers have looked for the lost chamber.

‘It will be a rigorous scientific work and will last several days, if not weeks,’ Franco Porcelli, the project’s director and a professor of physics at the department of applied science and technology of the Polytechnic University in Turin, told Seeker last year.

‘Three radar systems will be used and frequencies from 200 Mhz to 2 GHz will be covered.’

Mamdouh Eldamaty, Egypt’s former antiquities minister, has said there is a ’90 per cent’ chance the tomb has hidden chambers.

The ministry said the scans will be carried out over a week to check for the existence of any hidden chambers behind the tomb. Pictured are scientists setting up radar equipment for the new study

WHO WAS KING TUTANKHAMUN AND HOW WAS HIS TOMB DISCOVERED?

Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC.

He was the son of Akhenaten and took to the throne at the age of nine or ten.

When he became king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenpaaten.

He died at around the age of 18 and his cause of death is unknown.

In 1907, Lord Carnarvon George Herbert asked English archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter to supervise excavations in the Valley of the Kings.

Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC. Pictured is the face of Pharaoh Tutankhamen is displayed in a climate-controlled case at his tomb in the Valley of the Kings

On 4 November 1922, Carter’s group found steps that led to Tutankhamun’s tomb.

He spent several months cataloguing the antechamber before opening the burial chamber and discovering the sarcophagus in February 1923.

For many, Tut embodies ancient Egypt’s glory because his tomb was packed with the glittering wealth of the rich 18th Dynasty from 1569 to 1315 BC.

Previous investigations of the tomb suggest it hides two hidden chambers (pictured), including the resting place of Tutankhamun’s stepmother Queen Nefertiti

He claimed that finding them would be the ‘discovery of the century’.

The search began in 2015 following a claim by Dr Nicholas Reeves, an Egyptologist at the University of Arizona.

Based on Dr Reeves’ works, Japanese radar expert Hirokatsu Watanabe said he had evidence of two hidden chambers in the King’s tomb.

‘There is, in fact, an empty space behind the wall based on radar, which is very accurate, there is no doubt,’ he said at the time.

This prompted Egyptian antiquities minister Mamdough al-Damaty to issue a statement claiming he was almost certain there was a chamber behind the walls.

The news follows more than two years of speculation after British Egyptologist, Nicholas Reeves, said he found signs of a hidden doorway in King Tut’s tomb (pictured)

The new scanning project is the third to look into the possibility of hidden chambers in the tomb, following two unsuccessful attempts in 2015 and March 2016 (pictured)

WHO WAS QUEEN NEFERTITI?

Queen Nefertiti was famed for her beauty as depicted in the famous bust now in Berlin (pictured)

Queen Nefertit was one of ancient Egypt’s most influential Queens, ruling during the empire’s prosperous 18th Dynasty.

Nefertit, who ruled Egypt 3,300 years ago from 1353 to 1336 BC, was either the mother or stepmother of the boy-pharaoh King Tutankhamun.

Her full name, Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, means ‘Beautiful are the Beauties of Aten, the Beautiful One has come’.

Her power and charms in 14th-century BC Egypt were so great that she collected many nicknames, too – from Lady Of All Women, to Great Of Praises, to Sweet Of Love.

Nefertiti lived during the richest period in ancient Egypt’s history – from around 1370BC to 1330BC.

As well as marrying a king – Pharaoh Akhenaten – she was probably born the daughter of another pharaoh, and possibly ruled alongside Tutankhamun.

There is even a suggestion that she ruled Egypt alone after her husband’s death, meaning she ruled Egypt from cradle to grave.

Nefertiti and Akhenaten had six daughters, although it is thought that Tutankhamun was not her son.

DNA analysis has indicated that Akhenaten fathered Tutankhamun with one of his own sisters – making Nefertiti his step mother.

Her beauty and power were depicted in a number of temple images.

Sometimes she is shown walking behind her husband, but is also often shown on her own, in positions of pharaoh-like power.

Nefertiti is thought to have lost her husband around 1336BC, after which she may have reigned over Egypt alone.

Her own death is shrouded in mystery. She is thought to have died about six years after her husband, possibly from the plague that struck Egypt at that time.

In 1331BC, Tutankhaten changed his name to Tutankhamun and moved the Egyptian capital to Thebes, where he died in 1323BC.

The search is being led by the Polytechnic University Turin, Italy, and will be the third time in the past three years researchers have looked for the lost chamber. Pictured are the results of previous radar scans of the tomb, which were inconclusive

‘We said earlier there was a 60 per cent chance there is something behind the walls,’ he said at the time.

‘But now after the initial reading of the scans, we are saying now its 90 per cent likely there is something behind the walls.’

However, experts raised doubts about the claim after radar images from Mr Watanabe’s scans were released.

The National Geographic Society conducted a second series of radar scans in the hope of finding clearer evidence of a tomb.

Mamdouh Eldamaty, Egypt’s former antiquities minister, has said there is a ’90 per cent’ chance the tomb has hidden chambers. Pictured are scientists taking radar scans of the tomb’s walls in 2016

Some have theorised Tutankhamun’s tomb was in fact Nefertiti’s, and when the boy king died unexpectedly at a young age, he was rushed into her tomb’s outer chamber in Luxor’s Valley of Kings in southern Egypt

They scanned the walls in question at five different heights, switching between two radar antennae with frequencies of 400 and 900 megahertz, respectively.

‘One was for depth perception, and one was for feature perception,’ said Eric Berkenpas, an electrical engineer at National Geographic who was accompanied by Alan Turchik, a mechanical engineer.

But results came up up blank.

Egypt’s antiquities ministry refused to accept the new results.

Previously, researchers had said they believe there is a 90 per cent chance King Tutankhamun’s tomb contains at least one, if not two, hidden chambers. The announcement followed infrared thermography tests (pictured) that revealed one area of the northern wall was a different temperature to others (marked)

The search began in 2015 following a claim by Dr Nicholas Reeves, an Egyptologist at the University of Arizona. Based on Dr Reeves’ works, Japanese radar expert Hirokatsu Watanabe said he had evidence of two hidden chambers in the King’s tomb. Later, scientists took radar scans in 2016 (pictured), though the results were inconclusive

WHAT IS THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS?

The Valley of the Kings in upper Egypt is one of the country’s main tourist attractions, situated next to the Giza pyramid complex.

The majority of the pharaohs of the 18th to 20th dynasties, who ruled from 1550 to 1069 BC, rested in the tombs which were cut into the local rock.

The royal tombs are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology and give clues as to the beliefs and funerary rituals of the period.

The majority of the pharaohs of the 18th to 20th dynasties, who ruled from 1550 to 1069 BC, rested in the tombs which were cut into the local rock. Pictured are statues of goddesses at the site

Almost all of the tombs were opened and looted centuries ago, but the sites still give an idea of the opulence and power of the Pharaohs.

The most famous pharaoh at the site is Tutankhamen, whose tomb was discovered in 1922.

Preserved to this day, in the tomb are original decorations of sacred imagery from, among others, the Book of Gates or the Book of Caverns.

These are among the most important funeral texts found on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs.

The Valley of the Kings in upper Egypt is one of the country’s main tourist attractions, situated next to the Giza pyramid complex. The most famous pharaoh at the site is Tutankhamen, whose tomb was discovered in 1922

‘Other types of radar and remote-sensing techniques will be applied in the next stage. Once they are determined, we shall publish the updates,’ the ministry said in a statement.

For many, Tut embodies ancient Egypt’s glory because his tomb was packed with the glittering wealth of the rich 18th Dynasty from 1569 to 1315 BC

At a conference discussing the claims in 2016, archaeologists sitting on each side of the fence clashed over the controversial theory and plans to drill a hole in the wall.

Experts even disagreed about how the search for the chambers was handled, with the former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass claiming the project lacked any real science.

The researchers who conducted the radar survey were not allowed to present their research at the conference.

Speaking at the conference, the famed Egyptologist Hawass rejected the theory undiscovered chambers lie behind the tomb.

‘In all my career … I have never come across any discovery in Egypt due to radar scans,’ he said.

At the time, he said the technology would be better used to examine existing tombs that are known to contain sealed-off chambers.

Dr Reeves meanwhile defended the theory he put forward last year.

Preliminary results of successive scans suggested the tomb contains two open spaces, with signs of metal and organic matter lying behind its western and northern walls.

At a 2016 conference in Egypt, experts clashed over how the search for Tut’s chambers was handled with the former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass claiming the project lacked any real science. Pictured are scientists at the site in 2015

‘I was looking for the evidence that would tell me that my initial reading was wrong,’ he said.

‘But I didn’t find any evidence to suggest that. I just found more and more indicators that there is something extra going on in Tutankhamun’s tomb.’

Damati inspected the tomb in September 2016 with the theory’s proponent, Dr Reeves.

His theory and the attention paid to it came as Egypt struggles to revive its key tourism industry after years of political turmoil.

However, experts disagreed over how the search for the chambers was handled.

‘Handling the project wasn’t done scientifically at all,’ said former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass.

Damati himself said more tests were needed.

‘The infrared scan said we need to repeat it because we have something that we cannot be sure what it is exactly,’ he said.

Reeves theorised Tutankhamun’s tomb was in fact Nefertiti’s, and when the boy king died unexpectedly at a young age, he was rushed into her tomb’s outer chamber in Luxor’s Valley of Kings in southern Egypt.

Hawass suggested the current antiquities minister hire an autonomous committee of experts to handle the investigation.

‘We have to stop this media presence, because there is nothing to publish,’ he said.

A National Geographic team scanned the walls in question at five different heights, switching between two radar antennae with frequencies of 400 and 900 megahertz, respectively, in 2016 (pictured). Their results came up blank, but Egypt’s Minister for Antiquities refused to accept the results

Nefertiti was famed for her beauty as depicted in a famous bust, now in Berlin.

She, Tutankhamun and Akhenaten ruled during a turbulent time, and were one of ancient Egypt’s most controversial ruling families.

Nefertiti was married to Akhenaten, who tried and failed to force Egypt to convert to monotheism.

DNA evidence has shown that Akhenaten was Tutankhamun’s father, but Egyptologists do not agree on who his mother was.

Egyptologists rely on a mix of DNA evidence as well as information documented in ruins and historical calculations to map the pharaohs’ family tree.

Most tombs contain more information about the passage to the afterlife rather than solid information about the deceased’s biological lineage.