One of the more interesting stories in archaeology that we’ve been following over the past several months is the possibility of hidden chambers existing inside King Tut’s tomb. The theory that such chambers might existed started with British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves, who has been studying the tomb for decades. He believes that the hidden chambers may be a second tomb, possibly containing the remains of the lost Egyptian queen Nefertiti.
Last fall, a team of researchers entered Tut’s tomb and used gourd penetrating radar to scan the walls in two locations that Reeves identified as being possible entryways to hidden rooms. Yesterday, the results of those scans was revealed at long last, and it is now looking like his theories may be true, at least in part.
Yesterday, the Egyptian antiquities minister Mamdouh Eldamaty, held a press conference in Cairo to announce the findings. He told those in attendance that the radar scans not only confirm the existence of the two hidden chambers, but also revealed that those rooms contain items that are made of both metal and organic materials. That would be consistent with what you would expect to find in another tomb, although it remains to be seen whether or not the remains of Nefertiti.
Eldamaty says that “It could be the discovery of the century,” although he refused to speculate too much on what might be found inside. Another radar scan is scheduled to take place in a couple of week to take a closer look at the interior of the chambers and give archaeologists an idea of how to proceed with potentially opening them.
As you can imagine, working with such an ancient monument requires delicate, painstaking techniques, and at this point there is no plan to start the process of opening the new chambers. That will likely come in time, after researchers have further studied the make up of the rooms. What lies behind those walls remains a mystery for now, but it could be treasures on par with what were originally discovered in Tut’s tomb, or it could be something else entirely. We’ll just have to be patient to see what more mysteries will be revealed.
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