Found: Queen Nefertiti's Mummy

The Sunday Times (UK) ^ | 6-8-2003 | Jack Grinston

[blam]

June 08, 2003

Found: Queen Nefertiti’s mummy

Jack Grimston

BRITISH archeologists believe they may have identified the body of one of the most legendary beauties of the ancient world.

They are confident a tattered mummy found in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings is probably Queen Nefertiti, stepmother of the boy king Tutankhamun and one of the most powerful women in ancient Egypt.

The conclusion has been made after 12 years of research, using clues such as fragments of a wig and the piercing of the mummy’s ears. The breakthrough came after the Egyptian authorities allowed the 3,500-year-old body to be examined in detail for the first time.

Under a pile of ancient linen, archeologists found a broken-off arm bent in a way that was permitted only if the dead person was a pharaoh or queen.

Joann Fletcher, a key member of the research team from York University, said: “It’s a royal woman of the late 18th dynasty who wielded tremendous power. There are not many who fit that description. We can never have cast-iron certainty that it is Nefertiti but we have narrowed it right down.”

The mummy was originally found with two others by a French team in 1898. It was walled up in a side chamber of the tomb of King Amenhotep II. The body’s poor condition meant it drew little attention.

It was photographed only once, in 1907, before the chamber was walled up again. Since then it has been known simply as “the younger woman”.

Fletcher’s interest in the mummy was sparked when she noticed the photograph’s resemblance to a Nefertiti bust on display in Berlin since the 1920s whose beautiful face makes it one of the best-known images of ancient Egypt. It shows a woman with a long neck, high cheekbones and a slender nose. The name Nefertiti means “a beautiful woman has come”.

The bust was found at Amarna, where Nefertiti’s husband, the pharaoh Akhenaten, had his capital in the 14th century BC. But after his death he was branded a heretic and anything connected with his reign was destroyed.

“Nefertiti is the big name. She is such a phenomenally important Egyptian figure and she is an icon because of that bust in Berlin,” said Fletcher.

[blam]

I still have a bronze bust of Nefertiti that I bought in Cairo in the early 60's.

[blam]

Queen Nefertiti

[Lijahsbubbe]

Fascinating!

[Miss Marple]

Fascinating!

[Illwind]

Where is her Daddy?

[Lijahsbubbe]

Hello!

Hello!

[Lijahsbubbe]

Who's her daddy?

[abner]

Cool.

[Miss Marple]

HA! GMTA!

[StACase]

So...... Whadayathink?

[afraidfortherepublic]

Why was she buried with Amenhotep II when her husband was Akhenaten? Was Amenhotep her father? If she was Tutankhamun's step-mother, who was his biological mother?

[afraidfortherepublic]

That is a disgusting and insulting comparison, although I would like to see THAT younger woman walled up in a tomb somewhere...

[mass55th]

I thought she was Tut's mother-in-law, but maybe that was Neferteri. I can never keep these people straight.

[BubbaJunebug]

HOLY MOLY!!!!...could it be?

[arasina]

Tut tut!

[mass55th]

Here's a blip from a website:

"Little is known about the origins of Nefertiti but it seems unlikely that she was of royal blood. Her father was possibly a high official of Amenhotep III and Akhenaten called Ay, who went on to become Pharaoh after Tutankhamun. "

[txflake]

Don't read from the book! You mustn't read from the book!

:)

[MinuteGal]

Now, here's a mummy Bubba can really get into, a real Queen no less. That South American mummy that gave him the hots was just a commoner.

Nefertiti's jug ears are just right for him to handle, to boot.

Leni

[Osage Orange]

Is SickSlick dating it, yet?

[mass55th]

According to a website, King Tut is believed to be from a union between his father Akhenaten and a lesser wife named Kia. Nefertiti and Akhenaten had six daughters only, no sons. Also: "Tutankhaten became a Boy King at the age of about nine. He married a slightly older Ankhesenpaaten (below right), one of the daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti."

So, she was his step-mother and also his mother-in-law. And, he actually married a half-sister.

[afraidfortherepublic]

So, she was his step-mother and also his mother-in-law. And, he actually married a half-sister.

Didn't there used to be a song on that theme..."I'm my own grandpa..." or something like that.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Fascinating news!

[StACase]

I'm My Own Grandpa

[Grig]

So, it takes 3500 years to find and identify Nefertiti, so why the rush with Saddam and Bin Laden?

[mewzilla]

Cool beans. FOX's Lauren Green has always reminded me of Nefertiti.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Miss Marple and I weren't clever enough to include 'news' on our posts!

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Sorry. Should I ask the Admin Mod to change my post to, "Fascinating!"? :)

[Lazamataz]

NEFERTITI!

I miss my kitty.

She was stolen from me.

[afraidfortherepublic]

LOL. My head is spinning! Thanks for the song.

[afraidfortherepublic]

See post #23 from StACase!

[wardaddy]

Queen Latifah's Tummy?

[Batrachian]

Lauren Green reminds me of Lorne Greene.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[blam]

My third (in command) dog is named Nerfertiti. My lead dog is named TUT and my #2 dog is Ra. Pulling up 4th place is 'Boots.'

[Hank Rearden]

Lauren Green reminds me of Lorne Greene.

And they both remind me of Red Green.

[Batrachian]

Say, you're not related to Rigby Rearden, are you?

[Hank Rearden]

Say, you're not related to Rigby Rearden, are you?

No. Who?

[Lijahsbubbe]

Lauren Green reminds me of Lorne Greene

Are they related to Mr. Green Jeans?

[varon]

So...... Whadayathink?

Gotnotiti

Nefertiti

[7 x 77]

FOX's Lauren Green has always reminded me of Nefertiti.

Yeh, a little, but you'll agree that the real fox on FOX is Jennifer Eccleston -- oh my!

[aruanan]

So...... Whadayathink?

They got the "tattered mummy" part right.

[7 x 77]

Today's foxxy Mid-East Queen.

[fightu4it]

They say the concept of female beauty changes over the years. I would suggest that a woman with her features has always been considered a knock-out.

[Skywalk]

Everything above the mouth, yeah.

But what's with her mouth?!

Sorry, Laurie Dhue and Lauren Green have normal mouths, therefore I find them more attractive.

And can Jen stop that shoulder-shimmy, what's da dill wit that?

[Skywalk]

You know people like to bash Hillary, and I do too, but you have to admit she has a nice facial structure. In her younger days, had she not been a militant fem, she probably would have some beautiful pictures left over.

[Tribune7]

Found: Queen Nefertiti’s mummy

Now all they have to do is find her daddy and they will be a family once again.

[ezoeni]

I absolutly hate websites that play stupid music right away- Thanks

[Batrachian]

Sorry, just a little play on names. Rigby Reardon was the detective played by Steve Martin in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.

A poor joke, but a great movie.

[7 x 77]

Jennifer Eccleston's pouty mouth with glossy lipstick and her swivelling head are what puts her over the top. How many can combine tough, smart career woman with flirty, airhead girl -- I can't take my eyes off her.

And how about when she was reporting at 2 am from Aman Jordan in that white, fluffy coat with the wind blowing her long blond hair -- oh, yes!

[Straight Vermonter]

I think this is probably closer.