AND JOSH GATES. PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVEL CHANNEL EXPEDITION UNKNOWN SCULPTURE BY ELISABETH DAYNÈS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRAVEL CHANNEL’S PHOTO: VLADIMIR WRANGEL / SHUTTERSTOCK THE FACE OF NEFERTITI? The news that there was nothing detected behind The mummy is popularly known as the “Younger the walls of Tutankhamun’s burial chamber—let alone Lady”, an anonymous body discovered in 1898 in the the burial of Nefertiti—was disappointing for some, tomb of Amenhotep II (although unlikely to be an a vindication/“I told you so” for others, and, for a third original tenant). In relation to Nefertiti, the “Younger group, quite unsurprising. In the minds of these Lady” has been the subject of “is she or isn’t she” people, the mummy of Nefertiti had been identified speculation for decades. Now a recent facial recon- years ago—several times, in fact. struction invites us to once again ask the question. 46 NILE #14 | JUNE–JULY 2018 THE FACE OF NEFERTITI? Jeff Burzacott t started with a headline: “Could This Be The reading of the genetic data, this provides us with truly Face of Nefertiti?” The U.S. cable Travel Channel had exciting evidence that the mummy of the Younger Lady is issued a press release advertising a two-part special to none other than Queen Nefertiti herself.” Irun over two weeks in February: “‘Expedition Unknown’ Whether or not Daynès had created a reasonable like- with Josh Gates reveals facial reconstruction of ‘Younger ness of the Younger Lady was pretty much lost in a new Lady’ mummy. In a historic forensic reconstruction debate: whether or not the mummy was that of the famous project, Travel Channel is revealing the face of King Tut’s Queen Nefertiti. mother for the first time.” (See facing page.) The original 2010 DNA results had stated a high likeli- It’s true. DNA results released in 2010 had revealed that hood that the Younger Lady was a full sister to Tutankha- the “Younger Lady” was indeed the mother of Tutankhamun. mun’s father: the bony remains discovered in KV 55 and Joshua Gates, the series host, ex- often linked with Akhenaten. This plained that “Using the latest 3D would give the Younger Lady a imaging technology and working royal pedigree (daughter of Amen- with museum officials, noted Egyp- hotep III) and, according to the tologist Aidan Dodson, forensics DNA team, which included the experts, and the world’s leading colourful Zahi Hawass, make her paleo-artist and reconstruction a previously unrecorded sister-wife expert Elisabeth Daynès, we were of Akhenaten. able to bring this historic mummy Given that the ancient Egyp- back to life, and it looked like we tians rarely let a chance go by to were about to get another take on claim a title—especially a royal how she may have looked in life.” one—it’s hard to imagine how such TheTravel Channel continued: a person who was the daughter! ! “The extraordinary sculpture pro- of a pharaoh (sat-nesut 7 t G ), vides an accurate depiction of her the sister of another! ! pharaoh, appearance in life and bolsters the (senet-nesut 7 t 7 t ), and the theory that the 3,400-year-old mother of a third pharaoh (mut- mummy of King Tut’s biological nesut 7 . ), could leave no trace mother, nicknamed the ‘Younger in the inscriptional record. Lady,’ is also Queen Nefertiti.” However, DNA can be inter- When the recreation was un- preted different ways, and the veiled on the show, the new-look “BULLETIN DE L'INSTITUT EGYPTIEN, ANNÉE 1898" © HEIDELBERG UNIVERSITY LIBRARY “latest reading” that Aidan Dodson Younger Lady sported Nefertiti’s referred to was that by French distinctive flat-topped, tall crown. “Tête de la momie d’homme” Egyptologist, Marc Gabolde. The Travel Channel had made the Victor Loret’s 1898 photograph of the Gabolde had demonstrated that “Younger Lady” as found in KV 35. Partly conjectural leap and connected the because of the shaved head, the French- the same DNA result would be Younger Lady with Nefertiti. man thought that the mummy was that of produced if Tutankhamun’s im- Joshua Gates explained the pre- a young man. mediate ancestry was made up of sumption: “In 2010, genetics con- three generations of first cousins. firmed that she is, in fact, the This scenario, whereby Nefertiti mother of King Tut. Since Tut’s father was the Pharaoh was of noble, but non-royal stock, would allow Akhenaten Akhenaten, and since Nefertiti was the great royal wife of to marry his cousin, the Younger Lady/Nefertiti, and would Akhenaten, this makes the mummy a prime candidate to explain the complete lack of “king’s daughter” references. be Nefertiti herself.” Of course, the Younger Lady has a long history of as- And that’s where the controversy began. sociation with Nefertiti, so the latest controversy isn’t new. Daynès, best known for her recreation of Tutankhamun We’ll have a look at those—and get back to the Travel in 2005, explained that she “worked closely with forensic Channel recreation soon. But first, what’s the back-story paleopathologists and anthropologists to determine ac- on the Younger Lady? curate muscle, skin and soft tissue depth. When you overlay the profile of the reconstruction with the famous Berlin Bust of Nefertiti, they are an incredibly close match.” THE YOUNGER LADY STORY Aidan Dodson appeared convinced: “This remarkable On the evening of March 9, 1898, Victor Loret, the freshly- face seems to be consistent with ancient representations of appointed Director-General of the Egyptian Antiquities Nefertiti. It’s extraordinary. When taken alongside the latest Service, swung his lamp-light over three nameless and NILEMAGAZINE.CO.UK 47 coffinless mummies (below). They were laying on the floor eclipsed, however, when another side-chamber was inves- in a side chamber of the newly-discovered KV 35, the tomb tigated and revealed nine more mummies. In contrast, of Amenhotep II (son of Thutmose III). however, these mummies were in coffins that bore royal Loret held his prestigious post for only two years, yet, cartouches. Loret had uncovered a second royal cache, 17 over the course of two seasons in the Valley of the Kings, years after the first collection of rounded-up royals were his workers uncovered a remarkable 17 new tombs. KV 35 discovered at Deir el-Bahari. was one of them, discovered at the top of a short western The royal mummies were eventually carted off to Cairo, spur just off the main wadi. Inside, Amenhotep was waiting along with “une perruque”: a dark wig of plaited human for them; for the first time, the mummy of the king was hair that Loret had found lying near the bald, one-armed discovered still laying in its great sarcophagus. mummy. The three anonymous mummies, however, deemed In a side-chamber leading off from the burial chamber less interesting on a historical level, were left behind. were three denuded mummies: an elderly woman with a In 1907, the spartan trio was examined and photo- wonderful head of dark hair, a boy of about 15, and a bald- graphed by Grafton Elliot Smith, an Australian professor looking young woman. of anatomy at the Cairo School of Medicine, for his de- At one time their bandages had been crudely hacked at finitive catalogue ofThe Royal Mummies, published in 1912. with a sharpened adze in a frantic search for jewellery and With electric light now available, Smith was able to get valuable amulets, which had left the bodies with horrible a much better look than Loret had nine years earlier, and injuries—particularly to their heads and chests. The young made a surprising discovery regarding the Younger Lady: woman, in particular, had been singled out and sported a large gap where the left side of the mouth and cheek should “The examination of this mummy yielded the be (left). She was also missing her right arm. Despite this most surprising results, because M. Loret had treatment, the bodies had been carefully laid out on a described it as a man’s body, whereas it requires portion of the floor that had been carefully cleared of debris no great knowledge of anatomy to decide that to receive them. The young woman is, of course, our Younger the excellently preserved naked body is a young Lady, designated KV35-YL. woman’s. Every later writer has followed Loret The discovery of the three mummies was quickly in his description of this mummy as a man.” “BULLETIN DE L'INSTITUT EGYPTIEN, ANNÉE 1898" © HEIDELBERG UNIVERSITYLIBRARY 1898" © “BULLETIN DEL'INSTITUT EGYPTIEN, ANNÉE “Les trois momies de la pièce III.” Smith wrote that “the general appearance of the three The “Younger Lady” as discovered (shown on the left) with mummies found in room III by M. Loret has been very the teenage boy (centre) and the “Elder Lady” (right). accurately and realistically shown in the excellent drawing In his 1912 book, “The Royal Mummies”, Grafton Elliot by [French artist] M. Félix Guilmant” (shown here). 48 NILE #14 | JUNE–JULY 2018 THE YOUNGER LADY = NEFERTITI THE CASE FOR JOANN FLETCHER origins of the mummy: double-piercing was a rare fashion In 1990, Grafton Elliot Smith’s photographs and detailed statement in ancient Egypt—and while most representations description of the mummies were to prove invaluable for of Nefertiti show her with a single piercing in each ear, Joann Fletcher, studying ancient hairstyles for her doc- there are a couple that feature two (see below). Was this toral thesis in the U.K. anonymous woman with her delicate features and swan-like Although the dark chestnut-coloured wig—presumably neck an Amarna royal? belonging to the “Younger Lady”—had been stored at Cairo’s There was one way of proving the Younger Lady was Egyptian Museum without any documentation aside from royal: her arms.