I thought someone had better get the ball rolling on this one, so have posted one of my old messages!!
I wonder whether anyone else here saw the programme the other week on Discovery Channel, and what thay thought of it.
On the one hand, there does seem to be compelling evidence for the fact that the mummy in question, so called Lady X is indeed Nefertiti, due to the double peirced ears, the marks around the head, indicating the wearing of a fight fitting crown, the age at the time of death, and perhaps most importantly the facial reconstruction. On the other hand, there also seemed to be several anomalies within the narrative, where important pieces of information were not mentioned.
Firstly, the assumption that Nefertiti and Smenkhare were one and the same, which most Egytologists would dispute. This is not to say of course that Joann Fletcher's theories are not correct, as we should not dismiss her views out of hand. However, it does concern me that there was no mention whatsoever of the body in tomb 55, which although not postively identified as such, most scholars now agree is Smenkhare. It has now been proven beyond doubt that this was a male Armana burial, who was under the age of 25. The only male that seems to fit this description is Smenkhare. The fact that the measurement of the skull are identicle to that of Tutankhamun, would also seem to suggest that this body was a close relative of the boy king, leading to speculation that Smenkhare may have been an older brother of King Tut, possibly with the same mother, Kiya. Again though this cannot be proven.
I was also very surprised to hear the references to Akunaton having buried in the tomb found for him at Amarna, as I have always been told that there is no evidence to suggest that this tomb was ever used. I must say that I found the idea that Nefertiti survived her husband and changed her name somewhat strange, and all my instincts tell me that this cannot be true. It is known from various ancient Egyptian texts (I forget which exactly which ones) that after Nefertiti vanished during the 14th year of her husbands reign, he married their eldest daughter and she became chief wife. If Nefertiti was still around, there would be no need for him to do this. I also found it most unlikely that she would go back to Thebes and try and make peace with the Priests from the Temple of Amun, after all the effort she and her husband had made to install the new religion, not to mention build an entirely new capital city.
To me none of this really adds up. I just wondered what anyone else thought.
June
RE: Nefertiti Revealed
Dear Lovely Jubblies,
There is certainly evidence for Smenkhkare's existence in history. He was married to Akhenaten's daughter Meritaten. As far as I know they had no children (hence the rise of the generals after King Tutankhamen - the Royal Family never procreated) and he died young. It has been suggested that his was the burial in the mysterious Tomb 55 in the Valley of the Kings.
Patsy.
RE: Nefertiti Revealed
ok this may be a bit off topic, but does anyone know much about the layout of Akhetaten or Tel el Amarna? I was reading about some theories that historians have come up with to do with the proportions of the city compared to the proportions of the Atenistic temples and the positioning of Akhenaten's tomb and the border marking stela that have been discovered and was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of a hand understanding what they are all talking about! 🙂
Raining showers of golden blessings on you all, lovely_jubblies
RE: Nefertiti Revealed
lovely_jubblies,
I don't know THAT much about the layout of Akhetaten, but I know that King Akhenaten builthis new citybetween two mountain ridges in the Egyptian Eastern Desert, miles away from the Malkata Palace at Thebes. The idea of building the city between two ridges was that he would be able to see the Sun (the Aten disc) rise between them in the morning. The interesting thing about Akhetaten (the horizon of Aten) was that it was incomplete at the time of Akhenaten's death. All that was left of the place when the Royal Family moved back to Thebes was the boundary stelae. Archaeologists have since uncovered the remains of houses and a palace, workshops and other buildings. The mummy of King Akhenaten as far as I know, has never been discovered, but given that he was known as 'the great scoundrel', it is quite feasible that his body was removed from its tomb and burnt.
Akhetaten is now known as Tell el Amarna and Egyptian tourist companies run regular trips there.
Love,
Patsy.
😀
RE: Nefertiti Revealed
lovely_jubblies,
As an aside, the Valley of the Kings is not situated at Thebes (modern Luxor.) It is located on the West bank of the Nile, beside a very small village called Qurna. Luxor (Thebes) lies on the Eastern side of the river.
Patsy.