Tutankhamun's 'secret chamber' theory laid to rest

One of archaeology's most high-profile theories has been put to rest thanks to modern technology.

The gold mask of King Tutankhamun is seen in its glass case during a press tour, in the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015.

The gold mask of King Tutankhamun is seen in its glass case during a press tour, in the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt. Source: AAP

Egypt's antiquities ministry said on Sunday that tests had debunked a theory that there are hidden chambers next to the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings.

Experts have used ground penetrating radar (GPR) which has provided "conclusive evidence of the non-existence of hidden chambers adjacent to or inside Tutankhamun's tomb," the ministry said in a statement.

More details will be announced in a speech later in the day by the head of an Italian scientific team, Francesco Porcelli, of the Polytechnic University in Turin, the statement said.

It said Porcelli had submitted a report that "concluded, with a very high degree of confidence... the hypothesis concerning the existence of hidden chambers or corridors adjacent to Tutankhamun's tomb is not supported by GPR data."

An interior view of the King Tutankhamun burial chamber in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt, 28 November 2015.
An interior view of the King Tutankhamun burial chamber in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt, 28 November 2015. Source: AAP


Previous scans had suggested the possibility of hidden chambers, although experts disagreed on the results.

British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves had theorised that the tomb was in fact that of Nefertiti, the wife of Tutankhamun's father, King Akhenaten.

The theory held that when the boy king died unexpectedly at a young age, he was rushed into the outer chamber of the tomb in southern Egypt.

Akhenaten was known for trying and failing to force Egypt to convert to monotheism.

DNA evidence has shown that Akhenaten was Tutankhamun's father, but Egyptologists do not agree on the identity of his mother.


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Source: AFP, SBS

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