New Evidence for Hidden Chambers in Tutankhamun's Tomb

Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings has long puzzled archaeologists. It is unexpectedly small for a royal burial. Since 2015, researchers have speculated that hidden chambers, possibly holding the remains of Queen Nefertiti, might lie beyond its walls. Now, a team led by Mamdouh Eldamaty of Ain Shams University in Cairo says they have found the strongest evidence yet.

The study, published online on September 17 in the Occasional Papers of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project, combines multiple geophysical surveys conducted in and around the tomb known as KV62. The team used ground-penetrating radar (GPR) from inside the tomb, along with the first gravitational survey of the area, to probe the density of the surrounding ground.

A 2-metre corridor

George Ballard, a structural engineer and president of the GBG Group, analysed the results along with all available data from previous surveys. He is confident the data shows a 2-metre-wide corridor, densely packed with rubble, leading away from the burial chamber. He argues that previous teams missed it because they were looking for a large void immediately behind the wall, rather than a narrower passage.

The microgravity survey, using more than 1'200 readings across a 35-square-metre area, revealed what appear to be artificial structures with right angles, oriented parallel to the north wall of the tomb. One feature, dubbed "anomaly 7", is particularly intriguing: a mostly low-density zone containing a roughly square, high-density area within it. Ballard suggests this could be a chamber filled with objects, though he admits he is "looking at the very limits of detection."

The Nefertiti theory

The theory that KV62 hides more than Tutankhamun's burial was proposed by independent British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves in 2015. He noticed lines and cracks in the north wall of the burial chamber, along with ancient alterations to the room's paintings, suggesting a false wall of the type used by ancient Egyptian tomb builders to conceal deeper chambers.

Reeves proposed that KV62 was originally a much larger royal tomb built for Nefertiti, who many Egyptologists believe briefly ruled as Pharaoh. When the young Tutankhamun died unexpectedly, the entranceway was enlarged and modified for his burial, and the deeper sections were blocked off. If confirmed, this would rank among the most transformative archaeological discoveries of the modern era.

Cautious optimism

Other geophysicists are intrigued but cautious. Christopher Gaffney, an archaeologist and GPR specialist at the University of Bradford, describes the report as "fascinating" but says it does not provide enough information to draw definitive conclusions. "I'm feeling pretty ambivalent," he says. Peter Styles, a geophysicist at Keele University, says the presence of chambers "looks plausible" from the microgravity data, but he would like to see more details. Ballard says he does not yet have permission from the Egyptian authorities to release all of the data.

The proposed chambers do not seem to connect to any other entrances, suggesting that if they exist, they have not been entered since ancient times. A further possible room lies immediately to the west of the burial chamber, though the signal there is complicated by the gravitational effect of another nearby tomb.

What happens next

The decision of whether to peek into the supposed chambers rests with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. If approved, careful drilling to deploy miniature tractors equipped with cameras could start as early as November. Until then, the evidence remains tantalising but inconclusive.

The tomb was built in the fourteenth century BC and discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. More than a century later, it may still have secrets to reveal.