The mystery skirt the Egyptian boy king Tutankhamun carry on to get deeper . Not only is speculation rife that his last resting office also obscure the grave of his step - mother Queen Nefertiti – who may have reigned over Egypt in the eld precede Tutankhamun – but nowit ’s been suggestedthat his wet nurse , the woman who would have breastfed the future Pharaoh of Egypt as a baby , might have been his sister .
The news was announced on Sunday , by Egyptian officials and Alain Zivie , the archaeologist who discovered the tomb of the tight nurse Maia , ahead of her burial position being open up to the public next calendar month . The conclusion are establish on a carving found that depicts Maia and Tutankhamun . “ The extraordinary thing is that they are very similar . They have the same mentum , the eyes , the family traits , ” Zivieexplained to AFP . “ The carvings show Maia sitting on the regal stool and he is sitting on her . ”
This , the researchers speculate , indicates that Maia was actually princess Meritaten , which would have made her either the young pharaoh ’s sister or half - sister . Maia ’s tomb , but not her body , was happen upon by Ziviein 1996at a internet site known as Saqqara , a Brobdingnagian ancient interment ground place around 20 kilometers ( 12 mi ) south of Cairo . Meritaten was the first of six daughters born to Akhenaten who , following desoxyribonucleic acid testing in 2010 , was confirmed to have also been Tutankhamun ’s father . Carvings in Akhenaten ’s tomb also seem to corroborate the ancestry sexual intercourse between the sozzled nurse and the then prince .
Diagram show where the secluded rooms in King Tutankhamun ’s grave might be hidden . Mike Licht / Flickr CC BY 2.0
The news make out following the suspicion that the grave of Tutankhamun also holds at least one clandestine chamber , the entree to which is think to be hidden behind the picture and cutting on the walls of the young top executive ’s interment chamber . After scan the tomb last month , Egyptian authorities announced that they were “ 90 per centum sure ” that a hidden sleeping room exist . What lie in this room , however , is a little less certain . The most favour theory so far is that it holds the trunk of Queen Nefertiti . Researchers indicate that when Tutankhamun fail dead at the age of 19 , there was not enough time to build up him his own consecrated tomb , and so he was lay to rest in the porta chamber of his whole step - female parent ’s .
Confirmation of the identity of his wet nanny , however , is not currently potential as her remains have not been establish . Tutankhamun capture the world ’s tending after his untouched tomb , containing thousands of burial natural endowment , was discoveredin 1922by Egyptologist Howard Carter . The life and sovereignty of the pharaoh , who buy the farm after ruling the land for just nine years , has since been the issue of great debate and study .
