Disocvering new rooms in Tutankhamun’s tomb

a 3,300-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti is seen at the New Museum, in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

The Egyptian pharaoh queen Nefertiti could be buried in two newly-discovered rooms in King Tutankhamun’s tomb, according to a British archaeologist.

Nicholas Reeves said on Egyptian TV that two extra rooms had been found hidden in the walls of the tomb. Egyptian officials say they hope to give the go-ahead to use radar scans to test Mr Reeves’ theory that Nefertiti’s remains are hidden in one of them.

Mr Reeves believes the remains of Tutankhamun found in 1922, who died 3,000 years ago aged 19, may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Nefertiti’s tomb.

Dr Reeves developed his theory after a Spanish company of artistic and preservation specialists, Factum Arte, were commissioned to produce detailed scans of Tutankhamun’s tomb. The scans were then used to produce a facsimile of the 3,300-year-old tomb near the site of the original Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

While assessing the scans last February, Dr Reeves spotted what he believed were marks indicating where two doorways used to be. The archaeologist from the University of Arizona says he believes Nefertiti may lie inside.

Tutankhamun’s tomb was the most intact ever discovered in Egypt. Close to 2,000 objects were found inside. But its layout has been a puzzle for some time – in particular, why it was smaller than those of other kings’ tombs.

Dr Reeves believes there are clues in the design of the tomb that indicate it was designed to store the remains of a queen, not a king. His theory has yet to be peer-reviewed and leading Egyptologists have urged caution over the conclusion.