Life of queen nefertiti

 In the fourth year of his reign (1346 BC) Amenhotep IV decides to move the capital to Akhetaten (modern Amarna).In his fifth year, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten and Nefertiti would henceforth be known as Neferneferuaten-NefertitiInscriptions in the tombs of Huya and Meryre II dated to Year 12, 2nd month of Peret, Day 8 show a large foreign tribute.Meketaten may have died in year 13 or Nefertiti, 

Akhenaten and three princesses are shown mourning Meketaten.One of the structures, the Mansion of the Benben (hwt-ben-ben), was dedicated to Nefertiti.He would have been in charge of running her household.The king and queen are shown worshiping the Aten.She is shown smiting the enemy and captive enemies decorate her throne.In the damaged tomb (TT188) of the royal butler Parennefer the new king Amenhotep IV is accompanied by a royal woman, and this lady is thought to be an early depiction of Nefertiti.In the tomb of Meryre II, Nefertiti’s steward, 

Nefertiti always and forever

This was the first tomb ever opened in which the Pharaoh was still in his original resting place, and, moreover, 11 other mummies were also discovered in a sealed chamber in the tomb; 11 in all, nine belonging to members of the royalty family.One of the others, a female who had managed to retain her remarkable beauty, became known among Egyptologists as the "Elder Lady" and was identified as queen Tiye, the chief wife of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III.

Think of the tight-fitting, tall blue crown worn by Nefertiti, something that would have required a shaven head to fit properly," said Fletcher.Back in 1898, the French Egyptologist Victor Loret excavated the tomb of Amenhotep II on the Theban necropolis and came upon a remarkable find.Others express doubt that the remains are those of the legendary queen of beauty.Egyptologist Susan James, who trained at Cambridge University and who spent a long time studying the three mummies, told Discovery Channel, who financed the expedition, " What we know about mummy 61072 would indicate that it is one of the young females of the late 18th dynasty, very probably a member of the royal family.

However, early last week, Fletcher asserted that it was indeed Queen Nefertiti.Elaborating on his scepticism about the mummy being that of Nefertiti, Hawass told the Weekly that X-ray analysis carried out previously by himself and Egyptologist Kent Weeks indicated that it was the body of a 16-year-old girl, whereas Nefertiti is thought to have died in her 30s.He accuses Fletcher of lacking in experience, as "a new PhD recipient", and told Al-Ahram Weekly that Fletcher's theory was not based on facts or solid evidence, "only on facial resemblance between the mummy and Nefertiti's bust, and on artistic representations of the Amarna period in which the queen lived".He explained that,

 "Nefertiti was involved in the assassination of her husband's successor, Smenkhare, and was later in conflict with King Horemhab who overthrew the monotheistic cult of his predecessor and erased all traces of it.After this she continued to appear in reliefs, though outshone to some extent by other royal favourites like Kiya and her own eldest daughter Mereaten.She said that the mummy had deteriorated badly; that the skull was pierced with a large hole, and the chest hacked away.There is a puzzle," she conceded, and explained that in 1907, when Egyptologist Grafton Elliot Smith first examined the three mummies,

 he reported that the Younger Lady was lacking a right arm.Fletcher's assertion, released on the Discovery Channel's Web site, placed considerable stress on these particular characteristics of the mummy -- the brow-band over the foreheads of Egyptian rulers, and a double-pierced ear of the mummy, which she stressed can also be seen on busts of the queen and one of her daughters.A mummy of the young prince, not identified, bears a facial resemblance to that of Tiye's mummy, suggesting it could be Prince Thutmose, the eldest son of Amenhotep III.Nefertiti was a high-profile queen, who, incidentally, appeared nearly twice as often in reliefs as her husband, the king, during the first five years of his reign.

Eight of the mummies were transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and three were left in situ due to their critical state of preservation.Filed under catalogue number 61072, Fletcher was able to locate this mummy, along with the other two mummies lying on the floor of a side chamber of the tomb of Amenhotep II.And as for the third mummy, known as the "Younger Lady", the Egyptologists sway between the lovely queen Nefertiti and Princess Sitamun, a daughter of Amenhotep III (whom he may also have married and who would perhaps have been interred with her mother, Tiye).Without any comparative DNA studies, statements of certainty are wishful thinking.They also noticed a woman's severed arm beneath the remaining wrappings.

Salima Ikram, author of The Mummy in Ancient Egypt: Equipping the for Eternity, sees the identification as "interesting" and one that will doubtless cause endless speculation.Hawass asserted, moreover, that the physical resemblance is not significant, "because all the statues of the Amarna era have the same characteristics.Horemhab would never have allowed Queen Nefertari to be buried in the Valley of Kings," he concluded.In the latter years of the Akhenaten's reign, however, she disappeared from the scene.

For the second time in a week, the 18th-dynasty queen, Nefertiti, has been making headlines, and has again been the subject of much discussion.Worse still, the face, which would otherwise have been excellently preserved, had been cruelly mutilated, the mouth and cheek no more than a gaping hole.Nearby, however, he had found a detached right forearm, bent at the elbow and with clenched fingers.In fact, they are divided into two schools of thought.Some research was carried out at an early stage to verify whether the mummy of the Younger Lady was, in fact, Nefertiti, but to no avail.For his part, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Zahi Hawass totally refutes the idea, and describes it as "pure fiction".

After the incident in the Berlin Museum, in which the famous painted limestone bust of the queen was placed on top of a modern bronze female statue, Joanne Fletcher, a mummification expert from the University of York in England, announced that she and her team may have identified the actual mummy of the queen.This, she claimed, suggested the strong possibility of the link.Mamdouh El-Damati, director of the Egyptian Museum, mentioned that this theory was not new, this being the second time that a claim to have discovered Nefertiti's mummy within this group of mummies had been made.If true, it would certainly have some wide- ranging implications for Egyptology.

One of this trio of mummies is now thought to be that of Nefertiti.Following Discovery Channel's coverage of the events, the identification of the Younger Lady's mummy as Nefertiti immediately attracted an eager audience and made headlines around the world.However, physical evidence known and published prior to this expedition indicates the unlikelihood of this being the mummy of Nefertiti.

She was drawn to the tomb during an expedition in June 2002 when, after identifying a Nubian-style wig worn by royal women during Akhenaten's reign, she identified a similar wig found near three unidentified mummies.This is, of course, mere speculation.So whether or not the mummy is indeed that of the beautiful queen, the dearth of convincing evidence means this may remain one of Ancient Egypt's most enthralling and enduring mysteries.Further examination using cutting- edge Canon digital X-ray machinery, the team spotted jewellery within the smashed chest cavity of the mummy.Apart from the similarity in physiognomy, and the swan-like neck of the mummy that bears a resemblance to Nefertiti's beautiful face as immortalised in the limestone bust in Berlin,

 Fletcher pointed to other clues to support her hypothesis: a doubled- pierced ear lobe, which she claims was a rare fashion statement in Ancient Egypt; a shaven head; and the clear impression of the tight-fitting brow-band worn by royalty.Amarna art was idealistic and not realistic," he said, and pointed out that in the Egyptian Museum, there were five of six mummies with the same characteristics.But Egyptologists are not so convinced.The arm was bent at the elbow in Pharaonic style with its fingers still clutching a long-vanished royal sceptre.

Westerwelle says Nefertiti stays in Berlin

This was not mentioned by Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Abdul Gheit during the meeting with Westerwelle.Even Gheit could not hide his frustration at the situation where he said the greater part of Egyptian history is reflected in objects which are in European or American museums.Hawass and many Egyptians say his predecessors, who chose the collection of artefacts which did not include the Nefertiti bust, were conned by the Germans.It is “in the interest of human cultural heritage” that it not be put at risk, he said during a visit to Cairo on Saturday.Egyptian calls for the bust to be returned have increased recently, while it has been re-housed in Berlin’s Neues Museum, forming the centrepiece of the Egyptian collection in the German capital.

Westerwelle concentrated on the argument that the bust, said to be more than 3,000 years old, could be damaged if moved.We will reach a settlement which is satisfactory for both sides,” said Gheit.It was among a number of artefacts excavated by archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt in 1912 – the artefacts were split into two groups and the Egyptians offered the choice of which ones to keep.Zahi Hawass, Egyptian head of antiquities, has repeatedly warned that he intends to submit an official bid for the statue to be returned.There is also the desire in Egypt among my countrymen to learn about their history first hand,” he said.Westerwelle is then scheduled to visit Jordan and Syria to discuss the same matter with leaders there.

Nefertiti - The beautiful queen of Egypt

Although Nefertiti was the great wife of Akhenaton her origin has been the subject of much speculation and some historians claim that she was married or intended for Amenhotep III.Most historians today believe Nefertiti was the daughter of Aye the trusted adviser of Akhenaton.Some historians believe that Nefertiti changed her name to Smenkhkare, adopted the guise of a man and ruled as co-regent with her husband.Aye was the brother of queen Tye the great wife of Amenhotep III.

Akhenaton decided to go against tradition and convert Egypt to monotheism to worship the one God Aton (or Aten) the Sun Disc .The name Nefertiti means "The beautiful one has come" in the Egyptian language reveals the extraordinary beauty of an Egyptian queen whose bust was discovered in Amarna in Upper Egypt.Smenkhkare appears to have been co-regent for three years and to have died either just before or just after Akhenaton.They had closed the other Gods' temples and moved the capital city to a remote part of the land Amarna.Workers were sent to erase the name of Amun wherever it appeared.Nefertiti was a great supporter of Akhenaten to spread the new religion.

Each city had its own deity and an individual might feel attached to a certain God but no one questioned the existence of other Gods.Nefertiti played an important role in assisting her husband in his efforts to convert Egypt to monotheism which was a religious revolution at the time.Nefertiti and Akhenaton had six daughters.

Spinning Nefertiti

Elaborating on his scepticism, Hawass told the Weekly that X-ray analysis carried out by himself and American University in Cairo Egyptologist Kent Weeks on the mummy prior to Fletcher's publicised claims indicated a 16-year-old girl, whereas Nefertiti is thought to have died in her 30s.The SCA's code of ethics for foreign missions in Egypt stipulates that any discovery or conservation works should first be reported to the SCA before being published.These specialists also criticise Fletcher for breaking professional protocol by broadcasting the finding to corporate media rather than first writing about it in an academic journal.I am sorry to see a scholar who has earned a PhD deceive the world in this way, and flout the rules of a country that has respected scholars and opened the archaeological sites of Egypt to more than 300 foreign missions," said Hawass in his letter to Brothwell.In response to Fletcher's alleged violations of SCA rules, Hawass has written a letter of complaint to both Brothwell and the Discovery Channel, 

also accusing Fletcher of circulating spurious evidence.This time it is not for her painted limestone bust, now on display at the Berlin Museum, sitting atop a nude female statue.Meanwhile, the SCA's Secretary-General Zahi Hawass called Fletcher's theory "pure fiction".The whole fracas started about two months ago when Fletcher announced her identification of mummified Nefertiti among three mummies discovered in Amenhotep II's tomb by the French Egyptologist Victor Loret in 18 A subsequent Discovery Channel programme saw Fletcher explaining how she came to the conclusion that the mummy is indeed Nefertiti through identification of common physical characteristics between the mummy and the limestone bust.

The Times also accused Hawass of ruining British Egyptology and of being willing to use his status as Egypt's most powerful archaeologist to "break the careers of any Egyptologist".We have put restrictions on future work in Egypt not only for foreign missions but for Egyptians as well, in order to pay attention more to conservation,

 preservation and documentation work in sites threatened by modern development.It also stated that "the dispute has thrown British Egyptology into turmoil with British archaeologists accusing the Egyptian government of taking revenge on Britain for occupying Egypt in the 19th century, for invading Iraq and for refusing to give back the Rosetta Stone.However, her findings indicate that the mummy in question does belong to a young female of the late 18th dynasty, very probably a member of the royal family -- circumstantial evidence supporting Fletcher's theory that cannot substantiate the identity of the mummy in absolute terms.A double-pierced ear lobe, 

which she claims was a rare fashion statement in the Amarna era, the shaved head, and the visible impression of a tight-fitting brow-band worn by royalty were also cited to support her conclusion.He asserted that Fletcher's claims are not based on facts or solid evidence, "only on facial resemblance between the mummy and Nefertiti's bust and on artistic representations of the Amarna period in which the queen lived".Before taking the allegations against Fletcher to the permanent committee, which, according to the SCA's code of ethics, would deprive the expedition or Fletcher from carrying out further research in Egypt, Hawass is waiting for Brothwell's response to his request for an urgent and complete justification of what happened and why the York expedition did not follow the rules.They also say that the rise of Islamism and nationalism in Egypt is leading to a pool of resentment against the British.First, the estimated age of the mummy is not consistent with Egyptological consensus on Nefertiti's age at the time of ; and, two, the shape of the mummy is not the shape of a woman who was married for at least 12 years and delivered six children.All these [accusations] are a pack of lies," Hawass told the Weekly.

The general shape of the mummy indicates that it could be a male.However, due to its deflated breasts, the wide space of its sciatic notch, and the absence of a penis, the report concludes that it probably belongs to a female with an estimated age between 18 to 25 years.British and American Egyptologists have also pointed out that the double piercing of the mummy's left ear are not exclusively the style of Amarna but are also apparent in the mummies of New Kingdom youth.Al-Ahram Weekly obtained a copy of Brothwell's report to the SCA, which did not even unequivocally identify the gender of the mummy.Fletcher stands accused of breaking the Supreme Council of Antiquities' (SCA) protocol on reporting discoveries.

The dispute recently reached its peek after a 17 August Discovery Channel broadcast of another two-hour programme on Fletcher's theory, this one entitled "Nefertiti Resurrected".Hawass accused Fletcher of cheating the whole world by circulating false historical information that contradicts the report sent by her supervisor and Head of the York University Mission Professor Don Brothwell, as well as broadcasting a questionable drawing purported to represent Nefertiti.The report must be written and submitted to the SCA by the expedition's head and not to be published by a member of the team.The member of York University's expedition currently working in Amenhotep II's tomb may be banned from further excavations in Egypt.

Currently Nefertiti has been in the news for embroiling British Egyptologist Dr Joan Fletcher in a controversy that threatens her career.

Calling the Queen's Authenticity into Question

the main article  by By Christoph Seidler :

Borchardt, rather than exposing the naiveté of his royal guests, elected to keep the truth to himself.Of course they copied her.Museum visitors can look over the shoulders of specialists to see how the secrets of these old artifacts are revealed using infrared spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence and microscopy.

A bit of wax was allegedly found in Nefertiti's right eye.One might think that the debate is superfluous -- that the matter could be settled simply by testing the bust's age.

Despite such doubts, Stierlin refuses to back down.A sign next to the lab workers reads "Questions Welcome.He says that when Johann Georg, a Saxon duke, visited the tomb in the Egyptian city of Amarna, they were immediately taken by the beauty of the bust.That, though, is a difficult prospect.The piece, which bears inventory tag number 21300, is one of the most famous pieces of art from ancient Egypt.Until then, one could only see Nefertiti as she was depicted on bas reliefs," Stierlin told SPIEGEL ONLINE.At the Altes Museum on Berlin's Museum Island, a brief film runs in a silent loop on a monitor.

Borchardt wanted to see her in three dimensions.As to whether Nefertiti is a fake, I can't say for sure," says Ari Hartog, the curator of the Gerhard Marcks Haus, an art museum in Bremen devoted to the works of the famous 20th century German sculptor.At the same time, though, his employers have a clear interest in disproving Stierlin's theory.If the Nefertiti bust is indeed fake, says Hartog, "it's definitely not something made by Marcks.It was obtained in 1920 by Friedrich Rathgen, the chemist who first directed the laboratory that now bears his name.And Henri Stierlin, 

a Geneva-based author, certainly does have a few questions.That's an epistemological problem," Stefan Simon told SPIEGEL ONLINE.Simon is a material scientist who directs the Rathgen Research Laboratory, which belongs to the association of national museums in Berlin.The Nefertiti bust itself is only a few steps away.Stierlin's theory has been lent credence by the fact that Borchardt's expedition included someone named Marcks.Still, the wax sample's path from the bust's eye to the laboratory was long.Stierlin is interested in the Nefertiti copy, 

and he's not referring to the white model of the bust shown in the film flickering across the monitor.You Can Prove A Fake, But Not An Original Dietrich Wildung, the curator of the Berlin's Egyptian Museum -- and a long-time friend of Stierlin -- is even more emphatic in his dismissal of Stierlin's ideas.When it was carbon-dated a few years back, scientists concluded that might be more than 3,300 years old.The monitor is part of a current display at the museum, one which includes four work stations set up in a large, glass cubicle to show just how complex conserving great works of ancient art is.His suspicions run deeper.For decades,

people have marvelled at the bust of Nefertiti.Museum scientists are eager to prove these theories wrong, but the mysterious statue might not be ready to reveal her secrets yet.Hartog, though, says it was most likely the artist's brother.Radiocarbon (C-14) dating measures the decay of radioactive carbon isotopes, necessitating samples of organic material.

As a scientist, Simon's main allegiance is to the evidence.Unfortunately it's not so simple.In a recently published book, Stierlin claims that Berlin's famous Nefertiti bust -- one of the prides of the city's world-class collection of museums -- is actually a fake.For decades, Rathgen's sample lay in a small specimen bag in the museum before finally being dated, opening the door to doubt.It's dishonest to display this object when you know it's not authentic," Stierlin insists.We would not put an even remotely questionable object on display for 700,000 visitors to see every year," Wildung says.You can prove a fake, but you can't prove originals.

And its further complicated by the fact that, the closer one considers the Nefertiti bust, the clearer it becomes that very little is known about it.Nefertiti, though, is largely free of such material.It shows laboratory workers handling a replica of the Nefertiti bust built to test a new portable base for it.Art historians have their doubts about this theory.You can see it clear as day.Stierlin claims that Ludwig Borchardt, the leader of the excavation that found Nefertiti,

had the sculptor Gerhard Marcks make the bust in 1912 to serve as a display piece for a necklace that had recently been unearthed.And in recent weeks, its authenticity has been the subject of much debate.Now, some scholars say it's a fake -- made to hold a necklace.Stierlin's theory sounds exciting -- and it has proven adept at generating headlines.

Nefertiti ..Hell hath no fury

Nefertiti lived up to her name, 'a beautiful woman has come'.Although Nefertiti was not born of royal , she had grown up close to the royal family.Today, scholars still don't know exactly why she so suddenly disappeared from history more than 3,000 years ago.Until 1822, when scholars learned how to read hieroglyphics, she simply ceased to exist.The move to Amarna was a success and life seemed good.Akenhaten's temple at Armana All you need is love The reason for this may have been simple: love.And when Akenhaten ordered colossal statues of himself, he would order statues of equal size for his 'Great Wife'.Some evidence suggests that her father was the powerful courtier Ay, advisor to three pharaohs, including Akenhaten, Nefertiti's husband.

Nefertiti's Eyes

Seal impressions found there match some discovered in Tut's tomb, which is just 50 feet away.Each of their black coffins has a yellow-painted face.After taking out several stones blocking the doorway from the tomb shaft into the chamber, we peered through the narrow opening.Otto Schaden, our expedition director, asked me, as staff art historian and object analyst, if any information could be gleaned from the coffins to narrow this date range.It could be that Nefertiti had an epicanthic fold, a piece of skin from the upper eyelid covering the inner edge of the eye.

Images of Nefertiti show the trait more frequently and markedly than those of any other individual portrayed at Amarna.If not a royal tomb, what was KV63?Art of the Amarna period, when Akhenaten and Nefertiti reigned, is noted for its naturalistic depiction of plants and animals and, in some cases, candid scenes of daily life.It seems to have been a cache of material used by embalmers, but including coffins, unused or salvaged from disturbed burials, suitable for upper-class, but not elite or royal, funerals.Or the six princesses she bore to the pharaoh Akhenaten,

including Tut's queen, Ankhesenamun?It is also used in the 19th Dynasty, such as in depictions of the pharaoh Seti I at Abydos and of Nefertari, queen of Rameses II, who died around 1254 B.The press speculation was incorrect on all counts.Inside, we could see many large ceramic jars and several wooden coffins, some with yellow-painted faces.Nefertiti's famous bust illustrates this eye shape better than words.Was it in part the result of a genetic syndrome?Faces on coffins were often covered with thin plaster or gesso as a base for gilding or painting (as in the KV63 coffins).The mummies of these women have either not been found or identified.For example, this eye shape is also seen on a representation of King Amenhotep III, Akhenaten's father, 

seated in a relaxed pose with his wife Queen Tiy on a stela found at Amarna, and now in the British Museum.If the sculptor Tuthmosis were responsible for recording and then re-creating this eye shape, perhaps he extended its use from those who actually had it to--as an artistic convention--a "royal marker" to distinguish images of the king and a few select nobles.Many of these representations are in various stages of completion, but their distinctive eyes are easily noticed.We found no mummies in any of the tomb's seven coffins and no inscriptions to tell us for whom these coffins were initially intended.In doing that, the eyes on three of the painted KV63 coffins brought me back to Nefertiti.This divine or semi-divine status may have accounted for this eye shape being transformed into an artistic convention that was copied by high-ranking officials and subsequent rulers.It shows his head, sprouting from a lotus bloom, with eyes that match those of Nefertiti.Furthermore, 

a painting in a tomb in Thebes shows coffins of Nebamun and Ipuky, sculptors who worked during the reigns of kings Amenhotep III and his son Akhenaten.This is the case with some depictions, such as a wooden head of the young pharaoh that was found in his tomb.If so, it wouldn't be surprising if he were shown with an eye shape similar to hers.But while studying the coffins, I discovered--in the eyes of faces painted on three of them--an intriguing link to Nefertiti, the queen whose name means, simply, "the beautiful one has come.All eyes were on the Valley of the Kings the morning of February 5, 2006,

when our expedition first looked into the chamber now known as KV63, the first tomb found in Egypt's Valley of the Kings since that of Tutankhamun (KV62) in 19 Press speculation was rampant over what the tomb might hold.Eyes of this type undoubtedly created what must have been quite a striking feature to all who saw her.Both her proper right eye and the empty socket of the left show this form.The termites seem to prefer untreated wood, so while the remainder of the coffins were mostly consumed, the gessoed and painted faces survived.If a genetically based physical trait was the basis for this eye shape, did Nefertiti pass it on to her children and was it recorded in the appearance of their eyes in artwork?Nefertiti is best known from the painted bust of her found at Amarna and now in Berlin.Although KV63 didn't yield the mummies of Nefertiti, Ankhesenamun, 

and the rest, the tomb is linked to Tutankhamun's time.Some syndromes are debilitating, others less so, and still others are passed only from mothers to daughters.Moreover, in the sun cult that they fostered, both Nefertiti and her husband Akhenaten were the only ones through whom prayers could be directed to the solar god Aten.One of the earliest appearances of Nefertiti's unusual eye shape is on a stela showing the royal family.So rather than indicating the coffins were for females, the yellow faces probably copied those of the very wealthy, who could afford gold faces on their coffins.So one might suggest that the shape of Nefertiti's eyes may be an attempt to render her features as they actually appeared.On the stela, however, Akhenaten's eye shape is "normal" and resembles those seen on sculptures of him in Thebes,

but Nefertiti's is not.Found at Amarna and now in Berlin, it is dated by an inscription to before years 8 through 12 of Akhenaten's reign, or around 1350 B.What links the eyes of these three coffins, beside the fact that all are painted, is that the inner canthus--the corner of the eye near the nose--descends abruptly and abuts the upper lid, giving them an East Asian appearance.This feature is found not just in people of East Asian descent, but also in individuals with a number of different syndromes--groups of symptoms characteristic of an abnormality--some of which are genetically based.Amenhotep III was Nefertiti's father-in-law, but this stela was probably carved after his , 

so the eye shape does not predate its appearance on Nefertiti.Were the coffins with light yellow faces made for women?Did Tut rebury them in the Valley?The final word is not yet in, but there seems to be a high probability that Nefertiti herself had eyes with epicanthic folds or eyes with a similar shape with descending inner canthi.What is the meaning of this eye shape?This may have been passed along to some of her royal offspring.It is possible that Nefertiti was Tutankhamun's mother.

Like the yellow faces meant to represent gilding, did the eye shape seek to portray a "royal marker" derived from Nefertiti's own eyes?In the art of the ancient Near East, including Egypt, females were generally depicted with lighter skin than males.Would our expedition find the mummies of royal women from the late 18th Dynasty, such as Queen Nefertiti, thought by some to be Tut's mother?The face of one, which we designated coffin A, had eyes rimmed with blue glass in a traditional shape, unlike the other three coffins with yellow faces, designated B, F, and G.With no inscriptions and the ambiguous nature of the yellow face color, I began looking at other characteristics that might prove helpful, such as the shape and details of the faces.And it could even be that Tut did not have the eye shape himself, if his mother was a woman other than Nefertiti who did not have it or if the trait was passed only from mothers to daughters.The KV63 coffins were almost totally destroyed by termites, but the faces were made separately.

Finds include the seven coffins, a small gilt coffinette, two large alabaster vessels, floral garlands, pillows, natron (the natural salt used in mummification), and many ceramics.Other explanations for its appearance with Tut include the possibility that his mother was not Nefertiti but perhaps a woman of the extended royal family who also carried the trait.In either case, Tut could be shown with it simply as an artistic continuance of the characteristic.KV63's date should fall within or close to Tut's reign (1343-1333 B.Perhaps they were removed from Akhenaten's capital at Amarna when a later king, presumably Tut, returned to the traditional capital of Thebes on the Nile opposite the Valley of the Kings.So this stela may show a real, physical condition.

Her parentage is not entirely certain, but most Egyptologists believe she was the daughter of the powerful courtier Ay, who eventually succeeded Tutankhamun.This is especially clear in a relief, now in the Brooklyn Museum, that may show Meritaten, the queen's eldest daughter.German excavators at Amarna in 1912 found many representations of Nefertiti and her daughters in the studio of an artist named Tuthmosis, including the painted bust of Nefertiti.I began with the four coffins that had yellow-painted faces.

We are currently investigating the possibility that Nefertiti's eyes reflect such an underlying physical condition, but without her remains no diagnosis can be made (and the evidence may have been destroyed or altered during mummification).While none of the coffins held Nefertiti's remains, the eyes may tell us something unexpected about her celebrated beauty.And this brings us back to KV63, with its upper-class coffins.Perhaps we will gain further evidence for the date of KV63 from the contents of the remaining 16, of 28 total, storage jars that we plan to open this season.Two such coffins in museum collections, however, were inscribed for males.

The Nefertiti Hotel and Aladin Tours

As an Egyptian citizen I'm so happy that i have the chance to visit  Luxor and enjoy its places and of course i must enjoy one of its marbles hotels  .

one of this hotels named by Nefertiti Hotel and i advice any one coming to luxor to enjoy this hotel and here some words about nefertiti hotel ..

This is the first review we have ever written about a one star hotel, and for good reason. Its not that we have not tried, but usually the one star hotels we have visited were ill equipped to  deal with tourists. In many instances, the management and employees at the front desk could not speak a word other than Arabic. Often, the hotels were very deserving of their one star status as well.

Nefertiti: Royal Queen of Egypt

4 Queen Makeda also accompanied Solomon throughout his kingdom.Not long after the encounter, the Queen, dying of thirst, searched the palace for water.At this time, Ethiopia was second only to Egypt in power and fame.CLEOPATRA VII QUEEN OF KEMET (Ancient Egypt the land of the blacks) (69-30 B.In ancient times, royal visits were very significant ceremonial affairs.Song of Solomon) Although most of Black history is suppressed, distorted or ignored by an ungrateful modern world,

some African traditions are so persistent that all of the power and deception of the Western academic establishment have failed to stamp them out.And his famous line has continued down to the 20th century when, even now, the ruler of Ethiopia is the "conquering lion of Judah" descended directly from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.She is credited with popularizing the earthen city wall fortifications, which became characteristic of Hausa city-states since then.Would that I could remain here always, if but as the humblest of your workers, so that I could always hear your words and obey you.

Nefertiti Queen of Dynasty XVIII

Life within Akhenaten’s reign was far from being peaceful for the queen and king.Her beauty has captivated many artists, and is best portrayed in the famous bust shown above, found in the workshop of the sculptor named Thutmose.Similarly, speculation exists as to whether she was the obscure pharaoh Nefernefuaten.Within the reign of Akhenaten, religious reform took place, which changed the scheme of Egyptian religion drastically.The mystery of Nefertiti’s origins remain a large topic of debate.

Egyptologists have assumed that this was either due to banishment or her .Similarly, debate still remains as to whether or not Nefertiti was in fact the actual mother of Akhenaten,

and his wife at the same time.Little has been written about Nefertiti’s role with the king, however, from scribe texts, it is certain that she bore Akhenaten 6 daughters and no sons, and shared a near co-rulership with the king.As a result, Akhenaten appointed an heir outside of the line.Nefertiti is perhaps one of the best known queens of Egypt who is depicted in more sculpture and artwork than even the King Akhenaten.Nefertiti was the Wife of Akhenaten during the Eighteenth Dynasty.However, 

little evidence suggests that she actually died.Evidence suggests she was wed to Akhenaten as the daughter of a high official during Amenhotep III’s reign, or of Amenhotep himself.Fifteen years after her appointment to the position of Queen of Memphis, and the Eighteenth Dynasty, Nefertiti mysteriously disappeared.

Some scholars have contemplated Nefertiti’s role in the religious reform of Egypt, contemplating if it was Nefertiti who urged her husband toward the religious reform or if he did so under his own volition.Unfortunately,

the lack of male sons left Akhenaten with no male royal heir to the throne.Leaving behind the old gods, and orienting the religious life of Egypt toward a triple theological structure, has made many Egyptologists consider the reign of Akhenaten the reign of heresy.Little is known about the early years of Nefertiti’s life, and scholars have contemplated whether she truly was of royal lineage.

Nefertiti's Eye by Jagdish S. Mann

PROLOGUE

Of the three parts of this story, THE PRESENT is all true. THE FUTURE is all imaginary. THE PAST is for the reader to decide, for all who witnessed it have been for thirty three centuries. 

THE PRESENT

 

For more than thirty centuries, Akhenaten and Nefertiti remained unrecorded in history, forgotten even in legend. Their names were chiseled off the monuments; their faces were defaced from the statues; their city was razed to the ground, its very bricks stolen and carried off. Then, slowly, with the increasing successes in deciphering of heiroglyphic and cuneiform writing, a faint whispers of a king (either a gentle prophet or a cruel criminal) and a queen (too beautiful to describe) began to appear. 

Defacers' chisels were not able to disfigure everything. The border stele in the remote areas had survived the destructive fury, and the clay-tablet letters written to foreign capitals had also escaped the censor's attention. Archaeologists began to read these dispersed messages and fill in the empty spaces on the monuments in Thebes and Karnak.

By 1900, a picture had emerged of a pharaoh who was courageous or crazy enough to buck one of the most enduring and entrenched of the establishments. He defied the priests of Amun. He started a new ethic-based monotheistic religion, and erected a beautiful city 300 miles north of Thebes. 

The reaction to this rebellion was swift and complete. Within a few years of his , nothing remained of his religion or of his city. Even his name and that of his queen were obliterated from the memory of men.

But only for a time. Today, Akhenaten is considered to be one of the most remarkable personalities, a man ahead of his time. All major modern religions are essentially ethic-based and monotheistic. But what about his queen? Was she as beautiful as the epithets proclaimed? 

Did she share his vision?

The answer to the first part came with the discovery of the bust of Nefertiti, unearthed near the modern city of Tell el-Amarna, by a team of archaeologists working for the German Orient Society under Professor Ludwig Borchardt of Berlin. They were allowed by the Egyptian Government to excavate the site of Akhenaten's short lived capital,

Akhetaten.

The first person to lay eyes on Nefertiti's face in 3300 years was Mohammed Ahmes Es-Senussi. On December 6, 1912, he was digging in room 19 grid P_47 (the area was divided in grids measuring 600 square feet) when the rays of the sun lit up the gold and blue colors of the queen's necklace. 

A shout from Mohammed brought all picks and shovels in the area to a stand-still. Professor Borchardt was sent for from his make-shift hut where he slumbered, on a canvas cot, after his mid-day meal. The statuette lay buried, head down, in the debris. Once uncovered,

the sand-stone figurine stood twenty inches tall, and was in near perfect condition. The only visible damage was the chipped ear-lobes, and the in-lay of the retina of the left eye was missing.

As to the beauty of Nefertiti: it is timeless. Her face has become the best known in history, and her bust, which the German team smuggled out of Egypt to Berlin disguised as broken pieces of pottery, is the most copied and admired in the world. 

The sand and dirt of room 19 (more than 30 cubic feet) was sifted again and again through a finer and finer mesh. All the ear pieces were found but the eye in-lay was never recovered. Only later, a closer examination revealed that it was never inserted. 

Many theories, some likely and others far-fetched, have been advanced to explain this deliberate flaw in the masterpiece. It was suggested, for example, that the artist was interrupted at his work and left the work-shop with the in-lay in his possession, never to return. Or that the artist had fallen in love with the queen as she posed for him, was jilted by her, and in impotent revenge, refused to complete his masterwork. This is not as far-fetched as it first seems. The queen was known to be flirtatious. Another theory was that Nefertiti had gone blind in one eye. The artist had simply opted for realism over pharoanic dignity. 

Prevalence of eye disease in ancient Egypt was pointed to as well as the uniquely independent style of the artist. The graceful curve of the long neck, the arched eye-brow, and the hint of a smile on the queen's sensual full lips is a far cry from the symmetrical frozen immobility of the traditional Egyptian statuary. 

This view too had to be abandoned, however, when new wall reliefs and other three dimensional figures were found. Some of these were clearly by the same hand that had carved the famous bust, and show the queen, some at an older age, with both perfectly good eyes. No satisfactory consensus has been reached to explain this archaeological mystery.

THE FUTURE

"I didn't know there was this much interest in Nefertiti."

Tomas Sefari pointed to the crowded auditorium. Even the dinosaur dons seemed to have come down from their ivory towers. So many reporters with Holocams moved about everywhere.

"They don't care about Nefertiti. They have come to see a man jump off the world," said Javed Chaudhari.

"I am not jumping off the world. It is a field-trip. A quest for knowledge." Tomas smiled. They had this conversation before. 

"Most people don't understand that kind of motive. The opinion is that you have to be crazy to go on a trip like this, and Cosmic Coincidence Control is not supposed to let loonies run loose in our precious past. It surprised everyone when you got the green light."

Tomas was surprised too. No one has been allowed for nearly nine hundred years. "What about you Javed, do you think I am crazy?"

"I understand your passion, Tomas. It is your obsession that is beyond me. It is like Mummy Moorhead's." 

Professor Archibald Moorhead, although no one questioned his scholarship, was considered a nut-case. He had devoted his life to the study of Rameses II, and was said to know more about Rameses II than even Rameses II. 

"Thanks for the endorsement of my sanity," said Tomas.

"I can not understand that you would let them erase your memory," Javed went on.

"You won't even remember your name. How are you going to remember your mission?"

"Not erase, Javed, modify." said Tomas. "In any case, I had no choice. It was either that or no go." 

About his mission, Tomas had no fears. No matter where, when, or who he was, he will always remember Nefertiti. But would he see her? Would he be able to talk to her? Touch her? In the rigidly stratified Egyptian society, he couldn't simply walk up to the palace. The pharaoh and his queen were considered gods, and were. 

The lights in the auditorium dimmed. He saw Chancellor Thoorston walking to the stage, and was relieved to see that the proceedings would be informal. Too many people around him had been acting as if it were a funeral.

The podium, an ancient 23rd century job (the Academy prided itself on its old-world ambience), lit-up as the Chancellor approached it. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Global Academy of Antiquities. I am happy to see so many of you here. Obviously, I need not belabor the importance of this event. Your presence here confirms it. After a hiatus of nine hundred years, a member of this Academy will travel back to the time of the 18th dynasty of the pharoanic age, and due to his courage and sacrifice, our own age will be richer. As tradition dictates, professor Sefari will entertain a few questions from the press although all pertinent information is on the Info-tab. So without further ado , I give you Dr. Tomas Sefari." 

The hall broke into applause and pandemonium as hands went up for attention.

"Professor Sefari," called out Chitra McLintock of the World Fashion Net, "Those clothes you are wearing, is that how the men dressed during that time?" 

"Yes, That is correct," said Tomas. "Dr. Chaudhary, our foremost expert on the period's fashion, assures me that even the spinning of the yarn as well as weaving of the cloth was done according to the techniques of the time. It is also true of the few carving tool I carry."

"What is the mechanism of sending information back to our time, since you will not be returning?" asked Timbo Gore of the New Gotham News. 

"This seeming pebble," said Tomas fingering the pebble hanging around his neck with a leather thong, "is actually a nanotech recording device which is activated when pressed between my palms. I have been told that it is capable of surviving the vicissitudes of time. It is a time-capsule, if you will, to be dug up by my colleagues." 

"But professor, since you won't remember anything, what reason will you have to be talking into the pebble," insisted the reporter.

"A post-hypnotic suggestion will compel me to say my prayers with my hand pressing around this pebble," Tomas said.

"Dr. Sefari, why is it so important to know what happened to Nefertiti's eye? Why are you willing to throw away your life for this trivial piece of data?" asked the young reporter from The Star Rumors. 

"The questions of motivation are always personal. As to the worth of the information, I believe that all knowledge is intrinsically important, no matter how minuscule."

Many more hands went up, but Chancellor Thoorston brought the proceeding to an end.

THE PAST

 

Tomas Sefari hovered over a bluff. Below him, the Nile was a wide ribbon of shimmering water speeding to meet the Mediterranean. Around him, a sea of wheat fields: some harvested, tied in neat bundles, and arranged in straight rows; others ripe and ready, yellow as the sand he could see far to the East. The sky was turning purple pink. The sun will soon rise. His feet felt the ground. 

Time tunnels, those alley-ways that criss-cross "The Garden of The Forking Paths," had brought him here, to the time of his dreams, the time of his muse, Nefertiti. Soon his memory would fade, transmute, and adjust. He will cease to be Tomas Sefari and become Thotmas the Artisan. Thotmas! his name, a name he has always had. 

A boulder, polished by the ages, protruded from the flat field. Here the ploughman had connived with necessity and bent the furrows around the unyielding rock, making it a thing of beauty, a place of power, a place to welcome the morning sun. He walked to the boulder, pulled by it.

The boy bolted from under the rock, sleep still in his eyes, and fear.

Thotmas grabbed him, smiled at him, and offered him a piece of flat-bread--bread baked in the far future and put in his bag, along with his tools, by the always thoughtful, but no longer remembered, Javed Chaudhari.

Fate rules the world. Never were two people better met than Thotmas and Jabedi, a time traveler and a run away slave boy. Jabedi taught Thotmas the Theban language, guffawing at his mispronunciations. Thotmas taught Jabedi to carve soap-stone into figures and to whittle faces from the driftwood. They wandered along the Nile, going North. Thotmas, restless, prompted by some subliminal longing; and Jabedi, merely to get far from Thebes and his sadistic owner. 

One hot afternoon, thirsty and tired, they came upon the Inn. The walled court-yard, with its gate wide open, was big and inviting. Men snoozed in the shade on thick papyrus mats, some sat talking and drinking. Donkeys dozed, tethered to the palm trees, resting as only the beast of burden can. In the shade of the old fig-tree, a woman cooked in the out-door kitchen.

Emboldened by his hunger and taunted by the aroma wafting from the flaming brazier, Jabedi walked up to her. 

"Mistress, for the price of a meal, my master will draw the likeness of thy face which is more beautiful than the full moon in the harvest season," said Jabedi, his voice dry, a mere croak.

"Drink!" she said, pointing to the water pitcher. "Drink some water before you sell your master. And give him some too." 

Thotmas did not draw the likeness of Dulea, the cook and the proprietress of the Inn. He painted it, in bright colors, on the huge adobe wall overlooking the Nile. 

In the mural, Dulea stands in her out-door kitchen. A brazier flames next to her. Lush green leaves of the fig-tree fill and form the back-ground. Bundles of garlic and onions hang from the wall. Foods of all sorts: a roasted duck, fish on the , tack of bread, a basket if fruit sit on the counter. Surrounded by this cornucopia, her arms full of green vegetables, she looks like an earth-mother. Thotmas was happy with the results. Business at the Inn boomed soon after the mural was finished. Dulea found many, some quite odd, reasons to be on the river.

"The eyes seem to follow you," she said.

"She is happier than a pharaoh’s daughter," said her taciturn husband. 

And then the pharaoh's soldiers came. Thotmas was finishing his second mural: a bird's eye-view of the Nile, painted on the front wall of the Inn, near the kitchen. It shows Juma standing next to the water-wheel that hauls the river water for the use of the Inn's gardens and guests. Below him, filling the horizon, is the Nile. On its broad back float sluggish barges, swift sail-boats, and far in the distance, a royal galleon, colorful as a fire-cracker. 

With the clatter of hooves, dust, and barking of orders, the soldiers rode into the court-yard. Fear hung sweat thick in the Inn. People herded themselves near the kitchen, seeking security in the company of others just as helpless as themselves. They brought nothing but and slavery to the fellahin. 

"Where is the one who painted that?" demanded the officer of the horsemen, his spear pointed to the wall. Not an eye raised or a muscle moved. Thotmas put his reed-brush down and looked up at the horsemen. 

"Keep thy eyes cast down, O artisan. Provoke them not," whispered Dulea to him.

"It is I who did it," said Thotmas walking towards the officer. Jabedi followed close, keeping his eyes prudently glued to the ground. 

"Are you also the one who painted the picture that can be seen from the river?" inquired the officer. Already his voice had lost its harshness.

"That is so,." replied Thotmas. To everyone's amazement, the officer climbed down from his horse. 

"Sir!" he said, "You are asked to present your self for an interview with a person of importance. A boat will collect you tomorrow morning at the Inn's docking. This tunic has been sent to you for your use." He gave Thotmas a bundle.

Hardly any one slept that night. The Inn hummed with gossip. Who was this person of importance? Speculation abounded. 

"He is a banished prince of India. Now that the cruel regent is , he is to go back and rule his native land and free his sister and mother from the dungeon where they have languished for many years," said the story-teller with entirely unjustified confidence. But the less fanciful explanation offered by the donkey driver, presented with visual aids, held more sway.

"Look at my donkey over there, just look at her." He pointed to the donkey. "Now look at this." He passed around a papyrus sheet. Thomas had done the handsome animal justice.

"As anyone with eyes can see, this man Thotmas is a damn good painter of pictures. 

The tax-collector has heard of his talent. He is going to decorate his tomb. Even now, if you take the trouble to look, there is a galleon anchored on the Nile to take him to the City of the ."

The donkey-driver did not know how uncannily close to the truth he had come. It was not the tax-collector, but Nefertiti, the queen of Upper and Lower Egypt, who had seen the Mural on the wall. The sun was shining on the mural as the queen's galleon passed by. The colors of the mural were radiant in the afternoon light. The peasant woman looked alive, her eyes following the royal barge; and it seemed to the queen that the leaves of the painted fig tree moved in the breeze.

"The man that painted that mural, bring him to me," she ordered her chamberlain. "And Hetusha," she added. "No harm must come to him. He is special. We need men like him to build Akhetaten." 

Akhetaten, the capitol of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, was the first planned city in history. In 1359 BC, one hundred thousand workmen and artisans arrived at the virgin site, (a barren desert on the western bank of the Nile mid-way between Thebes and Memphis), and in less than four years, a city with its broad avenues, lush gardens, great temples, and elegant homes and palaces, was complete. 

Thotmas was the master sculptor of the "city of dreams," and the most favored of its queen. He too loved her with all his heart. No woman was ever painted or sculpted with more passion for perfection than Nefertiti by Thotmas. He sketched her as she posed for him in the nude, he chiseled her likeness in alabaster, granite and sand-stone. As he knew her more, his art transcended tradition and touched the face of beauty. 

On the thirteenth day of Peret, in the year 1355 BC, Jabedi brought a load of sand-stone blocks to the work-shop. One small block (2'x2') took Thotmas's fancy. He carried it to his private work-place. His body shivered with the cool touch of the stone; his mind filled with strange premonitions. He closed his eyes and saw the face of his beloved embedded in the stone.

For the next two months, in secret, Thotmas coaxed the stone, chisel stroke by gentle chisel stroke, to release the face hidden within. Slowly, the graceful neck, the high cheek-bones, the curved brow, emerged, and the sensual lips of the queen smiled at the artist. Still in secret, he painted the bust with loving care. But the statuette stayed sightless. Thotmas could not bring himself to insert the eye in-lays. 

Finally, when he could find no more excuses, he forced himself. His hands s he put in the right eye retina, and as he picked up the paste for the left eye, his mind whirled, his head spun, and the memories came flooding in: memories of another time, memories of who he was and why he was here. Thotmas/Tomas Sefari realized that he will not complete his masterpiece. He must not, if he wished to be with his beloved. He walked to the river. The Nile was in flood and the little paste for Nefertiti's left eye will never be found.

EPILOGUE 

 

Nefertiti was said to have died five days before her 40th birthday. But her sarcophagus was never found, and the rumors persist in the time tunnels that she was seen traveling to the future in the company of Thotmas/Tomas Sefari. 

the source http://www.sherryart.com/newstory/nefertiti.html