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 If proven, the discovery would be the most significant this
century and shed light on what remains a mysterious period of
Egyptian history despite frenzied international interest.
Nefertiti, whose chiseled cheek-bones and regal beauty were
immortalized in a 3,300-year old bust now in a Berlin museum, died
in the 14th century BC.
British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves told a news conference in Cairo
on Thursday that he believes Tutankhamun's mausoleum was originally
occupied by Nefertiti, thought by experts to have been his
step-mother, and that she has lain undisturbed behind what he
believes is a partition wall for over 3,000 years.
"If it is true, we are facing a discovery that would overshadow the
discovery of Tutankhamun himself," Egyptian Antiquities Minister
Mamdouh al-Damaty told reporters. "This would be the most important
discovery of the 21st century."
 Reeves said radar and thermal imaging could help establish whether
secret rooms were indeed hidden behind Tut's burial chamber and what
they might hold. Damaty said the next step would be to carry out
radar studies at the site, which could begin in the next one to
three months.
King Tut, as he is affectionately known, died around 1323 BC. His
intact tomb, complete with his famous golden burial mask, was
discovered in the Valley of the Kings in 1922 by another British
Egyptologist, Howard Carter.
Experts have long sought to understand why Tut's tomb was smaller
than that of other pharaohs and why its shape was more in keeping
with that of the Egyptian queens of the time.
Egyptologists remain uncertain over where Nefertiti died and was
buried. She was long believed to have passed away during her
husband's reign, suggesting she could be buried in Amarna, where her
bust was found in 1912. More recently, most experts, including
Reeves, have come to believe she outlived Akhenaten but changed her
name and may have briefly ruled Egypt.
HIGH-RESOLUTION SCANS
Reeves developed his theory about Nefertiti's resting place after
studying high-resolution scans he believes suggest the presence of
two rooms hidden behind the northern and western walls of Tut's
burial chamber.
He thinks one is a Tutankhamun-era storage area and another may
contain the remains of Nefertiti, whose name means "the beautiful
one has come".
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But some archaeologists have urged caution. The evidence remains
scant and others believe Nefertiti's mummy was found in 1898 and
already lies in the Egyptian Museum.
"The idea that one (room) might lead to a pre-existing burial
chamber, let alone that of Nefertiti, is pure speculation," Aidan
Dodson, an Egyptologist at Bristol University, told Reuters.
Damaty, who recently returned from a tour of the Valley of the Kings
with Reeves and other senior Egyptian experts, said he believed
there was a hidden chamber which could contain a royal woman's
remains but thought it was likely to be Tut's mother.
Nefertiti was the primary wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, who
introduced a form of monotheism to Egypt in the 14th century BC.
Many Egyptologists believe Tutankhamun was Akhenaten's child with
his own sister Kia.
Tut himself is believed to have married his own half-sister
Ankhesenamun, one of the six daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.
Nefertiti is believed to have survived her husband and ruled Egypt
herself as pharaoh under the name Neferneferuaten.
If her tomb is found intact, it would likely contain hidden
treasures and shed new light on a turbulent period rich in artistic
and architectural accomplishments.
(Editing by Michael Georgy and Tom Heneghan)
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