It may prove to be the most sensational discovery in archaeology since the tomb of Tutankhamun. British Egyptologist, Dr Joann Fletcher, is sure she has found the mummy of the legendary Nefertiti, who once reigned by the side of the Pharaoh Akhenaton. At present Dr Fletcher's research is aimed at uncovering evidence to support her claim that she has discovered the embalmed body of the woman, who, along with Cleopatra, must be Ancient Egypt's most famous queen.

Mummy number 61072
In June 2002 Joann Fletcher, an academic at the University of York, and her colleagues were allowed to examine the tomb known as KV35 in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor. This tomb had in fact been opened before, back in 1898, but was then walled up again in 1907. One mummy in the tomb had aroused particular interest among the research team, as the old photographs showed a strong resemblance to the celebrated Berlin bust of Nefertiti.

The mummy catalogued as No. 61072, together with the mummified corpses of a second woman and a boy, lies in a side gallery of the burial chamber of Amenophis II. The three mummies were found there by a French archaeologist, Victor Loret, at the end of the 19th century. But as the mummies were in poor condition, they attracted little attention at the time and for many years to come.

But now – and only after a great deal of detailed checking – the British research team have come to the conclusion that in all probability Mummy 61072 is that of the much fabled queen Nefertiti herself.
 
Has Nefertiti's body been discovered?
British scientists have examined the findings and believe it suggests the re-discovery really is Nefertiti's body. Evidence includes the mummy's double-pierced ear lobe, which was a mark of royalty. There were also impressions left by a gold headband - which was worn in this form exclusively by members of the royal clan. Plus the shaven head, which Dr Fletcher considers to have been essential if a crown such as the celebrated blue headpiece worn by Nefertiti was to fit perfectly, also strengthens the case.

The preliminary assessment reached by the British research team is that, at the very least, this mummy – found lying under an enormous heap of linen – is in all probability that of a female royal figure of the Amarna period. The long, swanlike neck, high cheekbones and assertive chin are reminiscent of the fine head of Nefertiti. A further pointer tending to identify the mummy with the beautiful ruler of the Nile kingdom, according to Dr Fletcher, is a wig found earlier near the mummified body. It is an artificial head of hair in the Nubian style, which was favoured by female members of the royal family in the later part of the 18th dynasty.

In addition, the embalming procedures that had been used on the three unnamed corpses in tomb KV35, the materials used and the specific type of mummification suggest they should be dated to the mid to late 18th dynasty, ie the time at which Pharaoh Akhenaton and his wife reigned. Such was the conclusion reached by Dr Stephen Buckley, an internationally renowned expert in this field, who took part in the detailed examination of the finds.

Signs of violence
The body believed to be that of Nefertiti bears the marks of considerable violence, apparently inflicted with an axe or some form of machete. The mummy lacks its right ear and one arm – though the arm was found in the course of a second expedition that the British research team undertook in February 2003. As there is considerable evidence, in Joann Fletcher's view, to suggest that Nefertiti was maltreated and murdered, these injuries could be a further piece in the jigsaw eventually leading to conclusive identification of the body. The violent death inflicted on the queen could have been the vengeance of the people, Dr Fletcher says, for the way she and Pharaoh Akhenaton together turned their backs on the old religion. Further examination of the mummy revealed that the face had been attacked with an extremely sharp object – perhaps a dagger. This strengthens the theory that here a hated ruler had been tortured, or her body disfigured after death.

The right arm of the mummy – later discovered separately – had been bound in a bent position, hand upwards. The fingers seemed still to be grasping a royal sceptre, though the sceptre itself had long since vanished. In the culture of Ancient Egypt, only pharaohs could be laid to their eternal rest in this manner. As some scholars consider Nefertiti to have been a female pharaoh, this could be a further clue.

Family tomb
A further piece of detailed evidence is provided by one of the two bodies found in the tomb alongside Mummy 61072. This mummy appears to be the embalmed body of Queen Ti. That, at any rate, was the conclusion reached on the basis of a number of hair analyses carried out by American and Egyptian scientists during the 1970s. Ti was the consort of Amenhotep III and mother of Akhenaton, in other words a close relative of Nefertiti.
 
Is this a mystery that will never be solved?
Some experts have expressed scepticism. They think Fletcher and her colleagues are basing their inferences on insufficient evidence. The mummy rediscovered for research could, these sceptics argue, be someone else, such as one of Nefertiti's daughters, who allegedly became a mysterious female Pharaoh.

And so, in spite of all the thorough investigations, the over 3000-year-old mummy, with catalogue number 61072, continues to be an enigma. It would take comparative DNA testing to solve the mystery of the body definitively. But as yet, no remains of Nefertiti's children or other close relatives have been found. This means, for the time being, that genetic tests are not possible.