Egypt explores King Tut's tomb, searching for Queen Nefertiti

Mary Bowerman | USA TODAY Network

Archaeologists are exploring King Tutankhamun’s tomb in a quest to find hidden chambers that could hold Queen Nefertiti’s remains, officials said Thursday.

Egypt's Antiquities Ministry said exploration of the 3,300-year-old tomb will last three days and results of the search will be announced on Saturday in Luxor, AP reported.

In August, Nicholas Reeves, an Egyptologist with the University of Arizona, published a paper that suggested Nefertiti's tomb might be hidden in a passageway behind Tutankhamun's tomb.

Reeves examined high-resolution images of King Tut's burial tomb and found what appeared to be fissures and cracks in several places on the wall. Reeves said that the cracks suggested that behind the wall, "two previously unknown doorways" were sectioned off and plastered over.

Egypt's Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty said in September that he believed that Nefertiti’s tomb was likely hidden behind the walls of King Tut’s final resting place, AP reported,

Known for her beauty, Queen Nefertiti has long held a prominent place in ancient Egyptian history. Yet, researchers have been unable to locate her final resting place.

Archeologists discovered King Tut's tomb in 1922.

The tomb was one of the most intact tombs ever found, but the small size of Tut's tomb in comparison to other Egyptian pharaohs has puzzled archeologists for decades. Reeves notes the "restricted size" of Tut's burial tomb is "less than appropriate for a king's burial."

According to Reeves, the small size of Tut's tomb suggests that the tomb was originally built for Nefertiti, and later expanded to accommodate the young king's body.

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