Search for Secret Chambers in King Tut's Tomb Begins

I posted about this a little while ago, but now the hype is real, as they begin today Thursday lasting till Friday searching for the hidden chambers in King tut's Tomb using radar.

I really really hope they find hidden chambers, it would be an amazing find.

SOURCE

An investigation of King Tut’s tomb to find secret chambers will begin tomorrow and will last until Friday, Egypt’s Minister of Antiquity announced on Wednesday.

The announcement, reported in the Egyptian media, comes on the 93rd anniversary of the tomb’s discovery in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. On this day in 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter found the entrance to King Tutankhamun’s treasure-filled tomb.

The non-invasive search follows a claim by Nicholas Reeves, a British Egyptologist at the University of Arizona, that high-resolution images of the tomb’s walls show “distinct linear traces” pointing to the presence of two still unexplored chambers behind the western and northern walls of the tomb.

According to Reeves, one chamber contains the remains, and possibly the intact grave goods, of queen Nefertiti, the wife of the “heretic” monotheistic pharaoh Akhenaten, Tutankhamun’s father.

He argued that a painting located behind King Tut’s sarcophagus has been wrongly interpreted. Egyptologists have always believed the scene shows Ay (who largely directed King Tut’s reign and succeeded him) performing the Opening of the Mouth ritual on the boy king.

From tut's chambers, and what it could possible look like in the new chambers if they are there.

a reply to: Mianeye

I hope they find my left sock. I searched everywhere in my house but it wasn't there... I figured it had time travelled and got buried in Egypt.



Seriously though: great news, I cannot wait to see what they find!

a reply to: Mianeye
but now the hype is real

when will they be airing "The Live Opening of King Tut's Hidden Chambers"

This looks like my grandmothers basement. I wonder when I'll be able to buy one of those gold bar cart cats at Home Outfitters?

In all seriousness, I hope they have enough time to find anything. Explorations of any kind are always rife with setbacks. Will two days be enough?

Does anyone else believe that Nefertiti may have taken the role of Pharaoh Smenkhkare? If this theory is true, would they still bury her with Tut?

originally posted by: Atsbhct
Does anyone else believe that Nefertiti may have taken the role of Pharaoh Smenkhkare?

We may neferknowknow.

But you gave me something to look into, so thanks. Have any good links that discuss this theory?

a reply to: Atsbhct

Nefertiti (Neferfruaten) would have held the reigns of power upon the death of her husband Pharoah Akhenaten
Akhenaten being Tutankhamen's (Tutenaten) father and husband of Nefertiti

The reign of Akhenaten was troubled by a conflict with the religion of the day ... Started by Akhenaten's father Pharoah Amenothis 3 who went against the priesthood by marrying a Nubian princess called Tiye who the priesthood considered a commoner or perhaps non royal blood line. Defying the priests Amenothis 3 not only married Tiye but elevated her to the position of Queen.

Akhenaten cared little for the religion of his day calling it "magic" meaning fooling the people ... also the worshipping of graven images ( statues of the God Amun ) stirred the same reaction as it did in Moses reputedly

The God Amun was an invention to supersede all existing gods and goddess's. The true spiritual meaning of these gods and goddess's was lost to corruption/religion ... It pertained to a more ancient philosophy of natural or universal law

After Akhenaten was "out of their way" Nefertiti and the young and now Pharoah Tutenaten was forced back to Thebes by the Priesthood ... Tut was only 8 ... He was forced to take the religion of Amun and change his name to Tutankhamen ...
Nefertiti did not last long before she too too conveniently disappeared ... Tut died aged 18 .. and was the last of the line of the 18th dynasty which had seen a revolution in both spirituality and art.

originally posted by: artistpoet
a reply to: Atsbhct

The reign of Akhenaten was troubled by a conflict with the religion of the day ... Started by Akhenaten's father Pharoah Amenothis 3 who went against the priesthood by marrying a Nubian princess called Tiye who the priesthood considered a commoner or perhaps non royal blood line. Defying the priests Amenothis 3 not only married Tiye but elevated her to the position of Queen.

Her father was a wealthy landowner from Akmin (not in Nubia) and a priest, and her mother was a chantress of Hathor. source Since the pharaoh was actually the highest of high priests for all the temples of all the gods, the priests would not have picked his royal wives for him. Her brother was also the Second Prophet of Amun, so really, there's nothing to annoy any priesthood there.

Akhenaten cared little for the religion of his day calling it "magic" meaning fooling the people ... also the worshipping of graven images ( statues of the God Amun ) stirred the same reaction as it did in Moses reputedly

As far as we know, he didn't do any image-smashing himself. He did, however, send workmen and military troops to carry out his orders (which they did in sort of an indifferent manner.)

And you're right -- relationships with the priests of Amun-Ra deteriorated after Year 5, and by year 9, he had disbanded all priesthoods and declared that all the income from all the temples across Egypt were to go to him.

BTW, "Heka" (magic) was not associated with fooling the people.

The God Amun was an invention to supersede all existing gods and goddess's. The true spiritual meaning of these gods and goddess's was lost to corruption/religion ... It pertained to a more ancient philosophy of natural or universal law

Actually, a lot of writings about these deities both before and after Akhenaten survives, so we have a good idea about many of them. Akhenaten only lasted 17 years after all, and could hardly destroy millions of pieces of text.

After Akhenaten was "out of their way" Nefertiti and the young and now Pharoah Tutenaten was forced back to Thebes by the Priesthood ... Tut was only 8 ... He was forced to take the religion of Amun and change his name to Tutankhamen ...
Nefertiti did not last long before she too too conveniently disappeared ... Tut died aged 18 .. and was the last of the line of the 18th dynasty which had seen a revolution in both spirituality and art.

We don't know that Tut was forced to take the religion or forced into a name change. And if Nefertiti is (unproven) the very briefly-reigning Neferneferuaten, then she was there for only two years. She does not appear in any artifacts associated with Tut, though I do see evidence that some of her funerary equipment was repurposed for Tut.

Hawass has said she's more likely to be buried in Amarna, and I tend to agree. The Valley of the Kings was dedicated to Amun-Re, and there's no evidence that the priests would allow such a bitter enemy as Nefertiti to be buried there.

originally posted by: Atsbhct
In all seriousness, I hope they have enough time to find anything. Explorations of any kind are always rife with setbacks. Will two days be enough?

Yes. They're only scanning a small area (200 square feet or less)

Does anyone else believe that Nefertiti may have taken the role of Pharaoh Smenkhkare? If this theory is true, would they still bury her with Tut?

Not Semenkhkare, but possibly Neferneferuaten. I can't think of any reason why they'd bury her with him - or in the Valley of the Kings, either.

a reply to: Byrd

Thanks for your reply ... you seem well read in Ancient Egypt

BTW, "Heka" (magic) was not associated with fooling the people.

"Heka (/ˈhɛkə/; Egyptian: Ḥkȝ; also spelled Hike) was the deification of magic in ancient Egypt, his name being the Egyptian word for "magic". According to Egyptian writing (Coffin text, spell 261), Heka existed "before duality had yet come into being." The term "Heka" was also used to refer to the practice of magical rituals. The Coptic word "hik" is derived from Ancient Egyptian."

en.wikipedia.org...(god)

Heka had to do with the soul ... and like all who offer salvation for one's soul such as priests they fool people ... they being those who purport to be agents of their particular God ... in this case the Amun priesthood being my point

originally posted by: artistpoet
a reply to: Byrd

Thanks for your reply ... you seem well read in Ancient Egypt

I'm actually taking some courses in it. There's some free online ones by university professors (some of whom taught me) -- the last one on Coursera was about the Superpowers of the Ancient World. Fascinating stuff.

BTW, "Heka" (magic) was not associated with fooling the people.

"Heka (/ˈhɛkə/; Egyptian: Ḥkȝ; also spelled Hike) was the deification of magic in ancient Egypt, his name being the Egyptian word for "magic". According to Egyptian writing (Coffin text, spell 261), Heka existed "before duality had yet come into being." The term "Heka" was also used to refer to the practice of magical rituals. The Coptic word "hik" is derived from Ancient Egyptian."

en.wikipedia.org...(god)

Heka had to do with the soul ... and like all who offer salvation for one's soul such as priests they fool people ... they being those who purport to be agents of their particular God ... in this case the Amun priesthood being my point

But the priests of Amun didn't necessarily have heka, and it didn't have to do with souls or salvation. Gods have heka (Thoth is another god of knowledge and magic, and Isis is known as "Isis, Great in Magic"), and so do objects, and objects can be imbued with heka. Under the Egyptian belief system, EVERYONE got to go to heaven unless they violated ma'at (the 42 confessions) -- and you could get some help from Anubis if the infractions were basically fairly minor.

I like Reshfam's page on magic - though I think some parts of it are outdated and there's no clear separation of which centuries (or millennia) these belong in. Geraldine Pinch has a rather classic book on magic in Egypt.

Oh - and if you like works on magic and medicine, Allen's book on medicine and magic is available as a FREE(!) PDF from the Metropolitan museum (I've downloaded a TON of books from that site!)


Edited to add (bringing this back to topic) they're gonna need a LOT of heka to find Nefertiti's tomb!

Get someone in there with a pickaxe and lets find out for sure already!

Blame the damage on ISIS, everybody wins!

Nice update. I've been following it also. Interesting concept images of what may be in the possible tomb and storage rooms. Here's hopes to something of a clue about Nefertiti's remains that have yet to be located. While her mummy speculated to have been found, it said to be a male mummy instead.

a reply to: Byrd

Again thank you for your post / information / links
I will have a look when time permits ...

Edited to add (bringing this back to topic) they're gonna need a LOT of heka to find Nefertiti's tomb

I watched a programme a few years ago about the possible discovery of Nefertiti's tomb ...
Unfortunately I can not bring the name of the Egyptologist to mind ... She is a Prof from York University UK and a specialist in the 18th dynasty.
Unfortunately she got herself banned from further investigation by Z Hawass for some minor indiscretion.

Will try find more when time permits

originally posted by: artistpoet

I watched a programme a few years ago about the possible discovery of Nefertiti's tomb ...
Unfortunately I can not bring the name of the Egyptologist to mind ... She is a Prof from York University UK and a specialist in the 18th dynasty.
Unfortunately she got herself banned from further investigation by Z Hawass for some minor indiscretion.

I remembered it and had to look it up myself. That was Joann Fletcher and her case was appealed and Hawass then un-banned her within a year.

I will say that today's announcements are what I expected.

I visited Egypt as a tourist last month (LOVED it!! Felt safe and welcomed by everyone and can't wait to go back again (2017)) and was saddened to see how hard things have been on the people who relied on tourism for their income. When we took a Nile cruise ship (like floating hotels), we were the only active ship out of sixty (60!) docked at Luxor.

The minister (he and Hawass dislike each other) is desperate to turn this around and everyone's beyond twitchy with the crash of the Russian tourist plane (the Russian tourists are a major source of income right now.) If they announced "no, doesn't look like anything there" then there is no new impetus for people to come visit. So, to my mind, what they have to do is announce "further tests" when they come up with nothing and then start working very hard to find something spectacular to announce ... and will let the "Nefertiti in Tut's Tomb" uproar die out.

This is purely speculation on my part. We'll see how it plays out. But for all the wonderful people I met on my trip, I hope that the situation improves in the new year.

a reply to: Byrd

Yes ... Thanks it is Joanne Flethcher I am thinking of ... The Gal with the mop of ginger curls

Just found the vid I am about to watch

www.youtube.com...

" Published on 22 Sep 2013
Dr Joann Fletcher's utterly convincing theory that a mummy in tomb KV35 is that of Queen Nefertiti has brought a lot of controversy. This fascinating programme looks at the evidence Dr Fletcher has uncovered in over a decade of research and, when the tomb was finally opened so she could examine the mummy ...."

As for the troubles in Egypt ... interesting to hear your observations whilst there ... I have never been but met an Egyptian who obtained authentic and verified papyrus ... on which I painted a couple of Egyptian themed pictures ... Hathpr and dancers and musicians ... I gifted these to a friend and also my niece who modelled for me as Nefertiti for a large canvas I painted a few years back now ... I still have one small piece of Papyrus left ... Which I may paint actual papyrus the plant on ... I have a large Papyrus plant on my window sill

Sorry to digress ... The Egyptian guy was fascinating to talk with ... he was very knowledgeable re Ancient Egypt his heritage.
It is a shame that Egypt is suffering so ... it has so much to offer the world and it's people are by and large very hospitable from what I have gathered.

I will tell you a true story of someone I shared a house with once many years ago.
Her father was a spy and a mountaineer. He is probably well dead now ... His daughter whom I shared a house confided that her father knew Howard Carter and also some Lord who funded/helped him.
She said several items were sent from Tut's tomb to this Lord.
To cut a long story short ... her father ended up in the possession of some artefact from the tomb ... and lived in fear of his life ... I had nor have any reason to doubt my friends story though only perhaps her Father holds or held real evidence ... so no proof but interesting all the same ...

Egypt could certainly do with some good news to attract tourists back as you noted ... If the finding of Nefertiti is established it would be great to also find Akhenaten

originally posted by: [post=20001435]
Her father was a spy and a mountaineer. He is probably well dead now ... His daughter whom I shared a house confided that her father knew Howard Carter and also some Lord who funded/helped him.
She said several items were sent from Tut's tomb to this Lord.

That would be Lord Carnarvon.
en.wikipedia.org...
His house (Highclere Castle) is 5 miles south from where I live, it has an Egyptology museum in the basement.
www.highclerecastle.co.uk...
These days its known as Downton Abbey
en.wikipedia.org...

anything stolen wouldn't have done him any good, he died a year after the excavation from an infected mosquito bite in Cairo

a reply to: Marduk

Thanks for info ...

The story goes that when Carter died ... coincidently all the lights in Cairo went out ... a power cut or something along those lines ... such is the stuff of myth ...

As for my friends father ... he lived in fear of his life with a gun always by his side on a remote Scottish Isle ... whether this was due to his spying activities or the reputed theft of Tut artefact ... I could not say

Edit to add ... Apologies it was Earl Carnavon's death I refer to not Carter ...

originally posted by: artistpoet
As for my friends father ... he lived in fear of his life with a gun always by his side on a remote Scottish Isle ... whether this was due to his spying activities or the reputed theft of Tut artefact ... I could not say

Sounds more like paranoia to me, death didn't come on swift wings for anyone involved

A small update, which sounds promising.

New Clues Point to Secret Chamber in King Tut Tomb

A team from Cairo University’s Faculty of Engineering and the Paris-based organization Heritage, Innovation and Preservation used infrared thermography to detect the temperature of the walls in the tomb. Preliminary analysis indicates the presence of an area different in its temperature than the other parts of the northern wall.

In order to certify the results, Eldamaty said, a number of experiments will be carried out to determine more accurately the area showing the difference in temperature.