SCA denies Nefertiti claims by British team
Egypt, Local, 8/20/2003

In response to news about discovery of the mummy of Queen Nefertiti, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) Zahi Hawas criticised British scientist Joann Fletcher.

Fletcher, a member of a British archaeological team working in Egypt, recently claimed that the team from York University in England unearthed Nefertiti from a secret tomb (KV35) in the Valley of Kings.

Nefertiti, which means 'the beautiful woman has come', was the wife of the 'heretic' Pharaoh Akhenaten, and was long considered to have been the most powerful woman in Ancient Egypt.

Her tomb was found near that of king Tutankhamen, the teenager who ruled Egypt in the 14th century BC, and whose tomb was first discovered in 1922.

Virtually all traces of Nefertiti and her husband (1353-1336 BC) were erased after his unsuccessful attempt to supplant polytheism with the worship of the Sun god Aton -- one of the earliest known practices of monotheism.

Nefertiti, whose limestone bust is in the Berlin Museum, had an unusually high status during her husband's reign. Like her husband, Nefertiti's name was erased from historical records and her likenesses were defaced after her death.

The mummy was first discovered in 1898 and ignored. Fletcher was drawn to the tomb again during an expedition in June 2002, after she had identified a Nubian-style wig worn by royal women during Akhenaten's reign.

The wig was found near three unidentified mummies of two women and a boy.

The news, which Fletcher was trying to spread, and which was broadcast on the Discovery Channel, prompted the SCA chief to investigate the claims of the British scientist, calling them "mere lies."

In an interview with Middle East News Agency (MENA), Hawas said that the mummy Fletcher and her assistants had found was that of a man.

"That is what Fletcher's supervisor said," Hawas added.

The wig that Fletcher claimed to have found beside the mummy does not exist, "because those who were with Fletcher at the time of the discovery denied seeing such an object," Hawas said.

The mummy, which Fletcher claimed to be that of a 25-year-old woman, turned out to be the mummified corpse of a female aged between 16 and 20.

"That is what the head of the expedition proved," Hawas said.

"Therefore it cannot be the mummy of Nefertiti, because she died at 30 years old," he added.

Hawas said that the holes Fletcher claimed to have found in the earlobes of the corpse did not mean that the deceased was a woman, since ear-piercing was a common practice among men and women at that time.

But it seems that the "pack of lies" championed by Fletcher on the Discovery Channel, which funded the study for a special feature for transmission on 17 August, 2003, in the US, has produced unfavourable results.

"Because Fletcher broke the SCA's code of ethics, SCA has decided that mission by the British expedition in Egypt should be suspended," Hawas said, adding that the rules of the SCA are strict on this point.

Scientific standards must be maintained by the expedition, which must publicise its activities, as well as bear the expenses of preliminary investigations.

Asked about the member of the French expedition who was caught in the act of smuggling artifacts, Hawas said that the SCA assured that it was an individual misdeed and not a general practice by the French team, which Hawas said "can in no way sully their reputation."

Commenting on the latest findings, Hawas said: "There is much to be announced in due course."

Previous Stories:
  Nefertiti display angers archaeologists   (6/13/2003)
  Hawas dismisses Nefertiti's mummy claim by British archaeologist   (6/12/2003)
  Egypt takes legal measures to claim Nefertiti head   (6/12/2003)
  Queen Nefertiti's mummy   (6/10/2003)
  Restoring queen Nefertiti statue, head on naked women provokes some   (6/7/2003)
  Akhenaton Sarcophagus returns   (1/28/2002)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search