It was rediscovered in 1989 by Egyptologist Donald Ryan, who was struck by the pose and quality of mummification of the second mummy.
"It was striking, it was what many believe to be a royal female pose: left arm bent across the chest with the left hand clenched, right arm straight alongside the body. I've always felt that this was a royal mummy, and possibly Hatshepsut, but there was no evidence in the tomb to prove who this mummy might be," Ryan, an archaeologist at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., told Discovery News.
Ryan also found the smashed remains of a once gold-gilded coffin face-piece that had a notch for a false beard, "suggesting a male or royal association which would be curious in the tomb of two women, especially if they were both nurses."
According to Ryan, the evidence coming from the tooth is going to create some debate, but it should not be dismissed.
"There is always room for creativity in science and I think this is a fascinating and novel approach to solving an intriguing mystery," Ryan said.
DNA testing on the 3,000-year-old mummy and mummies from Hatshepsut's family will be the next step to reach conclusive evidence.
The tests will be carried out at a new DNA testing facility located outside the Cairo Museum in Egypt, funded by Discovery Quest, the Discovery Channel's initiative to support scientific research.
Egyptian molecular geneticist Yehia Zakaria Gad told reporters that preliminary mitochondrial DNA showed “encouraging” results to prove a relationship between the mummy and her ancestor, Ahmose Nefertari.
