A
team of archaeologists led by Zahi Hawass may be closing in on the resting
place of the boy king's wife. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.
An
Egyptian archaeological mission led by renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass began
excavation work in the Valley of the Monkeys, a section of the Valley of the
Kings on Luxor’s west bank, to search for an 18th Dynasty tomb “probably” of
the wife of the boy king Tutankhamun, Ankhesenamun.
Mostafa
Wazir, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities told Ahram
Online that the team is working in the area near the tomb of king Ay, the
successor of king Tutankhamun, in search of a yet unidentified 18th Dynasty
tomb. He
pointed out that in 2010 the team uncovered in this area four foundation
deposits which suggest the existence of a tomb. According
to ancient Egyptian traditions, he asserted, such deposits have to be dug after
the completion of any tomb but digging deposits before the construction of any
temple.
Renowned
Egyptologist Zahi Hawass told Ahram Online that in 2010 the team has unearthed
inside these deposits a collection of knives and clay pots from the reign of
king Amenhotep III, the father of the monotheistic king Akhenatun and the
grandfather of the golden king Tutankhamun. “This
suggests that the tomb could belong to one of Tutankhamun’s family members,
probably his wife Ankhesenamun,” Hawass told Ahram Online. He
added that radar survey carried out earlier has detected the existence of an
anomaly five meters below the ground level. Some suggest that it could be the
entrance of a tomb.
"Until
excavations were conducted, archaeologists couldn't be certain of the tomb's
existence. And if so we do not know for sure to whom it belongs," Hawass
said, adding that "it could be anything, until we excavate." Ankhesenamun
was the wife of Tutankhamun but married Ay not long after Tutankhamun’s death.
Due to the location of the evidence, Hawass and his team think that any
undiscovered tomb may belong to her. The
Valley of the Monkeys, also known as the Western Valley, earned its name from
local inhabitants because of the walls paintings which king Ay’s tomb, which
depict 12 monkeys.
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