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King Tutankhamun: new evidence suggests ancient Egyptian gold mask was made for heretic queen Nefertiti

'Blinded by the piece’s sheer beauty… the world has looked and yet has completely failed to see'

Friday 27 November 2015 18:19 GMT

Tutankhanum's famous gold death mask may have been intended for his step-mother, Nefertiti

A British Egyptologist has found new evidence suggesting the death mask of ancient Egyptian king Tutankhamun was not made for him – in fact, it was made for his stepmother, Queen Nefertiti.

Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves told Egyptian news service Ahram Online the famous gold death mask of Tutankhamun was in fact never intended for him.

Dr Reeves points to a cartouche (royal name stamp) that appears to have been retouched as evidence. The stamp conceals traces of another name: Ankhkheprure Nefernefruaten, which can be translated to Queen Nefertiti.

“Blinded by the piece’s sheer beauty and enormous bullion worth… the world has looked and yet has completely failed to see – that the gold mask had never been intended for Tutankhamun at all,” said Dr Reeves, who was a curator in the former Department of Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum.

Other features that back his conclusion the death mask was intended for a woman include the presence of pierced ears. In almost all other ancient Egyptian depictions, pierced ears were a feature only reserved for queens and children.

The discovery was made possible by an accident involving the mask’s beard being broken off and hastily glued back on by an employee of the Egyptian Museum in January.

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

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1/21Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Carter and a worker examine the solid gold innermost sarcophagus, October 1925. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Carter examines Tutankhamun's sarcophagus, October 1925. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Carter, Callender and two Egyptian workers carefully dismantle one of the golden shrines within the burial chamber, December 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Carter, Mace and an Egyptian worker carefully roll up the linen pall covering the second shrine, 30th October 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Inside the outermost shrine in the burial chamber, a huge linen pall with gold rosettes, reminiscent of the night sky, covers the smaller shrines within, December 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Carter, Callende, and two workers remove the partition wall between the antechamber and the burial chamber, 2nd December 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

A statue of Anubis on a shrine with pallbearers' poles in the treasury of the tomb, ca.1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Arthur Mace and Alfred Lucas work on a golden chariot from Tutankhamun's tomb outside the "laboratory" in the tomb of Sethos II, December 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and an Egyptian worker wrap one of the sentinel statues for transport, 29th November 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

In a "laboratory" set up in the tomb of Sethos II, conservators Arthur Mace and Alfred Lucas clean one of the sentinel statues from the antechamber, January 1924. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Ornately carved alabaster vases in the antechamber, December 1922. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Chests inside the treasury, ca.1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

A gilded bust of the Celestial Cow Mehet-Weret and chests sit in the treasury of the tomb, ca.1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Under the lion bed in the antechamber are several boxes and chests, and an ebony and ivory chair which Tutankhamun used as a child, December 1922. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

A gilded lion bed and inlaid clothes chest among other objects in the antechamber, December 1922. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

An assortment of model boats in the treasury of the tomb, ca. 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

A gilded lion bed, clothes chest and other objects in the antechamber. The wall of the burial chamber is guarded by statues, december 1922. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

A ceremonial bed in the shape of the Celestial Cow, surrounded by provisions and other objects in the antechamber of the tomb, December 1922. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and an Egyptian worker open the doors of the innermost shrine and get their first look at Tutankhamun's sarcophagus, 4th January 1924. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Tutankhamun's burial mask, November 1925. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Lord Carnarvon, financier of the excavation, reads on the veranda of Carter's house near the Valley of the Kings, ca.1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

The botched repair job led to the mask being taken off display for restoration, and for the first time, it was examined meticulously and photographed.

“A fresh examination of the mask in Cairo at the end of September 2015 yielded for the first time, beneath the hieroglyphs of Tutankhamun’s praenomen (personal name), lightly chased traces of an earlier, erased royal name,” said Dr Reeves.

This is the second time this year Dr Reeves has shaken up the archaeological community. In October, he studied ultra high-resolution images and believed he found clues in the walls of Tutankhamun's burial chamber of having been painted over with scenes depicting the young Pharaoh’s life, as well as hidden doors that may lead to the discovery of Nefertiti's final resting place.

Egypt's antiquities authorities received the news with enthusiasm, and have approved the use of ground-penetrating radar to probe the tomb after a preliminary infra-red scan of the walls last month appeared to back Dr Reeves' claim up.

Tutankhamun's beard reattached

He writes that the implications of this are “extraordinary” because it may point towards the existence of an entirely new room within the burial chamber – “that of Nefertiti herself, celebrated consort, coregent, and eventual successor of pharaoh Akhenaten”.

Tutankhamun was made a pharaoh when he was nine years old and died at 18. His step-mother, Nefertiti, was the wife of Egypt's most controversial pharaoh, Akhenaten. Nefertiti is widely regarded as the most beautiful woman of ancient Egypt, but the cause of her death and final resting place remains a mystery, until now.

A draft of Dr Reeve's study can be found and downloaded on Academia.edu.

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