Mummy May Be Queen Nefertiti
British team points to physical evidence

Monday, June 9, 2003
Reuters

Nefertiti had an unusually high status during her husband’s reign and like him, her name was erased from historical records and her likeness defaced after her death.

The mummy on the far right is believed to be that of Queen Nefertiti. The others are an unidentified boy and woman.
Image Credit: MSNBC

WASHINGTON -- Reuters
A British Egyptologist announced Monday her team may have identified the mummy of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, the wife and co-ruler with pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother to legendary boy King Tutankhamun. Joann Fletcher, a mummification specialist from the University of York in England who led the expedition, said her team may have unearthed Nefertiti from a secret chamber in tomb KV35 in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

Nefertit, which means “the beautiful woman has come,” has long been considered one of the most powerful women of ancient Egypt. Her tomb was found near that of King Tut, the teen-age king who ruled Egypt in the 14th century BC.

“After 12 years of searching for Nefertiti it was probably the most amazing experience of my life,” said Fletcher in a statement released by the Washington-based Discovery Channel, which funded the expedition.

“Although we can only suggest the identity as a strong possibility, the findings certainly have some wide-ranging implications for Egyptology,” she added.
(More: MSNBC.com)
2003 © Reuters, Ltd.

Dan