our networks
tlcanimal planetthe science channelmilitary channelthe health channel
site search
shop now
 

nefertiti resurrected

 

Tracking Nefertiti

By Maryalice Yakutchik
    print
 
mummy

Slide Shows

 
In between enunciating the "N" and vocalizing the rest of the word — "efertiti" — Joann Fletcher pauses for a full second, presumably to check herself and make a conscious decision about disclosing the name that's been on the tip of her tongue for 12 years:

"Nnnnnnn … efertiti."

Her habit of hesitation is hard to break. During a dozen years of hot and dusty research, mum was the word. Until now, the British Egyptologist has kept secret the presumed identity of an enigmatic and maliciously damaged mummy in a secret chamber in tomb KV35 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. To everyone — colleagues, students and the public alike — she referred to her research subject simply as "X."

Having recently accumulated firsthand scientific data to add to the corroborative evidence that she painstakingly mounted over the years, Fletcher has broken her cryptic silence. She declares that the unwrapped, shaven-headed mummy in KV35 is indeed most likely to be Nefertiti, the stunningly beautiful and powerful 3,400-year-old royal who likely reigned as pharaoh after serving as queen, and whose death and final resting place were ages-old mysteries.

Still and all, whenever the question arises about who is in the tomb, Fletcher can't bring herself to say "Nefertiti" without that split-second hesitation.

Perhaps the only way to be absolutely, positively 100-percent certain of the mummy's identity, Fletcher agrees, is if she would sit up and declare herself as Nefertiti. Short of that happening, Fletcher's as sure as sure can be that the mummy is that of a late-18th-dynasty Egyptian woman with significant royal powers.

 
advertisement

Shop Discovery Store

 

TV Today

May 09,
8:00 pm
60 min(s)
Deadliest Catch
Unsafe and Unsound
 
Greenhorns, skippers, and family fishing dynasties begin to crack
May 09,
9:00 pm
60 min(s)
Man vs. Wild
Namibia
 
Bear Grylls shows you how to survive in one of the hottest, empti
May 09,
10:00 pm
60 min(s)
Man vs. Wild
Everglades
 
Adventurer Bear Grylls wades through the alligator infested water
May 09,
11:00 pm
30 min(s)
How It's Made
Episode 24
 
Find out how aluminum pots and pans are made, artificial limbs co
May 09,
11:30 pm
30 min(s)
How It's Made
Episode 24
 
Find out how pocket knives, soapstone products, electric pole tra
 
newsletter
 

Sponsored Links

 
SITE SEARCH
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERS
CREDITS DCL |
DISCOVERY SITES Discovery Channel / TLC / Animal Planet / Discovery Health / Science Channel / Planet Green / Discovery Kids / Military Channel /
Investigation Discovery / Discovery Home / HD Theater / Turbo / FitTV / HowStuffWorks / TreeHugger / Petfinder / PetVideo / Discovery Education
VIDEO Discovery Channel Video Player
SHOP Toys / Games / Telescopes / DVD Sets / Planet Earth DVD Sets / Gift Ideas
CUSTOMER SERVICE Contact Us / Free Newsletters / RSS / Sitemap / TV FAQs
CORPORATE Discovery Communications, LLC / Advertising / Careers @ Discovery / Privacy Policy / Visitor Agreement
ATTENTION! We recently updated our privacy policy. The changes are effective as of Tuesday, October 30, 2007. To see the new policy, click here. Questions? See the policy for the contact information.