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'Hidden chamber' in Tutankhamun’s tomb is ‘full of treasures’

Egypt’s tourism minister promises the news ‘will be a Big Bang – the discovery of the 21st century’

Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith

Wednesday 24 February 2016 17:20 GMT

A possible hidden chamber within the ancient tomb of Tutankhamun is “full of treasures,” Egypt’s tourism minister has promised.

The possibility of a hidden chamber was revealed late last year, when Egypt’s Antiques Ministry said scans of the boy king’s tomb showed evidence of another room behind two secluded doorways, and suggested the possibility of it being the resting place of Queen Nefertiti.

Egypt’s tourism minister Hisham Zaazou told Spanish newspaper ABC on a trip to Spain that there will be a press conference regarding what has been found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, adding that the discovery will be a “Big Bang”.

“We do not know if the burial chamber is Nefertiti or another woman, but it is full of treasures,” he told the newspaper. “It will be a ‘Big Bang’, the discovery of the 21^st century”.

Various theories surround the possibility of the hidden chamber. British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves first raised the belief that Queen Nefertiti, understood to be Tutankhamun’s step-mother, could be buried in a secret compartment after high resolution photos showed straight lines on the walls of the tomb.

In November, Egyptian officials said they were “90% sure” of the hidden chamber after conducting radar tests on the tomb.

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

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1/21Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Carter and a worker examine the solid gold innermost sarcophagus, October 1925. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Carter examines Tutankhamun's sarcophagus, October 1925. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Carter, Callender and two Egyptian workers carefully dismantle one of the golden shrines within the burial chamber, December 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Carter, Mace and an Egyptian worker carefully roll up the linen pall covering the second shrine, 30th October 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Inside the outermost shrine in the burial chamber, a huge linen pall with gold rosettes, reminiscent of the night sky, covers the smaller shrines within, December 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Carter, Callende, and two workers remove the partition wall between the antechamber and the burial chamber, 2nd December 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

A statue of Anubis on a shrine with pallbearers' poles in the treasury of the tomb, ca.1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Arthur Mace and Alfred Lucas work on a golden chariot from Tutankhamun's tomb outside the "laboratory" in the tomb of Sethos II, December 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and an Egyptian worker wrap one of the sentinel statues for transport, 29th November 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

In a "laboratory" set up in the tomb of Sethos II, conservators Arthur Mace and Alfred Lucas clean one of the sentinel statues from the antechamber, January 1924. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Ornately carved alabaster vases in the antechamber, December 1922. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Chests inside the treasury, ca.1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

A gilded bust of the Celestial Cow Mehet-Weret and chests sit in the treasury of the tomb, ca.1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Under the lion bed in the antechamber are several boxes and chests, and an ebony and ivory chair which Tutankhamun used as a child, December 1922. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

A gilded lion bed and inlaid clothes chest among other objects in the antechamber, December 1922. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

An assortment of model boats in the treasury of the tomb, ca. 1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

A gilded lion bed, clothes chest and other objects in the antechamber. The wall of the burial chamber is guarded by statues, december 1922. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

A ceremonial bed in the shape of the Celestial Cow, surrounded by provisions and other objects in the antechamber of the tomb, December 1922. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Howard Carter, Arthur Callender and an Egyptian worker open the doors of the innermost shrine and get their first look at Tutankhamun's sarcophagus, 4th January 1924. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Tutankhamun's burial mask, November 1925. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

Discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb - in colour

Lord Carnarvon, financier of the excavation, reads on the veranda of Carter's house near the Valley of the Kings, ca.1923. Image courtesy of Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, colourised by Dynamichrome

But former antiquities minister and archaeologist Zahi Hawasshas refuted Mr Reeves’ claims, believing Queen Nefertiti to be one of the female mummies discovered in the Valley of the Queens, which are currently undergoing DNA tests at the Egyptian museum.

It is thought that Tutenkhamun’s tomb may have originally been Queen Nefertiti’s tomb, but was converted when he died at the age of 19, before his own burial chamber had been completed.

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