Scepticism over Queen Nefertiti mummy

Egyptologists and antiquities experts voiced scepticism yesterday over a claim that the mummy of Queen Nefertiti, one of the world's most well-known ancient Egyptians, had been identified.

America's Discovery Channel said an expedition working in Luxor's Valley of the Kings, the ancient royal burial ground for Egypt's pharaohs, had discovered a mummy they believed might be Nefertiti.

The team was led by Joann Fletcher, a member of the University of York's Mummy Research Team, and made the discovery while visiting a secret side chamber in a tomb known as KV35, which housed three mummies.



The Discovery Channel said one of the mummies "bore a striking profile and swanlike neck comparable to the famed beauty Nefertiti".

The mummy also had a double pierced ear lobe and a bent-up arm, signs of ancient Egyptian royalty.



"This is not good evidence at all; this is just a theory," said Zahi Hawaas, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

He said x-rays of the mummy had shown it belonged to a 16-year-old, whereas Nefertiti was thought to have died in her 30s.

Other Egyptologists have also said it will be hard to prove the mummy is Nefertiti.