For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Egyptian officials say they are now "90 per cent sure" there is a hidden chamber in King Tutankhamun's tomb.
The country's Antiques Ministry said scans of the tomb provide evidence of a chamber behind two hidden doorways, possibly the resting place of Queen Nefertiti.
Some theories suggest Nefertiti may have been the mother of King Tutankhamun.
Archaeologist Nicholas Reeves believes the tomb was initially built for her, but Tutankhamun's death forced priests to open the tomb 10 years after her death, as the young pharoah's own mausoleum had not yet been built.
"We can now say that we have to find behind the burial chamber of King Tutankhamun another chamber, another tomb," Mamduh al-Damati, the Egyptian antiquities minister, said at a press conference.
Show all 21 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
He said experts were "90 per cent sure" the radar tests show a hidden chamber.
"Clearly it does look from the radar evidence as if the tomb continues, as I have predicted," Mr Reeves said at the conference.
"It does look indeed as if the tomb of Tutankhamun is a corridor tomb... and it continues beyond the decorated burial chamber," he added.
"I think it is Nefertiti and all the evidence points in that direction."
However, Mr Damaty believes the chamber may contain the body of Kiya, a wife of the pharoah Akhenaten.
The scans will now be sent to Japan for further analysis - which could take up to a month.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies