Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass said he is sure that the mummy he is currently studying will be of Queen Nefertiti.
Hawass is currently preparing for an exhibition entitled “Daughters of the Nile” focusing on women in Pharaonic Egypt.
Hawass added to the Spanish Newspaper the Independent: “I am sure that I will reveal the mummy of Nefertiti within a month or two.”
Nefertiti, whose full name is Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, lived between 1370 and 1330 BC approximately and married the pharaoh Akhenaten. She was the queen of ancient Egypt in a period of great wealth and was the mother of Tutankhamun.
Some believe that after the death of her husband, Nefertiti ruled as queen, although scholars differed on this issue, but Hawass believes in it.
Hawass said, “I am still searching for two things: Nefertiti’s tomb and her body. I really believe that Nefertiti ruled Egypt for three years after Akhenaten’s death under the name Smenkhkare.”
And while the mummified remains of many pharaohs and important ancient Egyptian figures have been discovered, Nefertiti has yet to be identified.
He said: “we already have DNA from the Eighteenth Dynasty, from Akhenaten to Amenhotep II or III, and there are two mummies that have not been named have the figures KV21a and b.”
“In October we will be able to announce the discovery of the mummy of Ankhesenamun, the wife of Tutankhamun, and her mother, Nefertiti,” Hawass said.
