Archaeologist Zahi Hawass and his team say that they have found evidence that a newly discovered tomb may belong to King Tutankhamun’s wife Ankhesenamun. There are plans to eventually excavate the tomb, which is near the tomb of pharaoh Ay in the Valley of the Kings. Ankhesenamun may have married Ay after the death of Tutankhamun so it’s quite possible that she is buried near him.
“We are sure there is a tomb there, but we do not know for sure to whom it belongs,” Hawass told Live Science in an email.
“We are sure there is a tomb hidden in that area because I found four foundation deposits,” Hawass said, explaining that the foundations are “caches or holes in the ground that were filled with votive objects such as pottery vessels, food remains and other tools as a sign that a tomb construction is being initiated.”
“The ancient Egyptians usually did four or five foundation deposits whenever they started a tomb’s construction,” Hawass said and “the radar did detect a substructure that could be the entrance of a tomb.”
Ankhesenamun was the third of six known daughters of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. She was the Great Royal Wife of her half-brother Tutankhamun and may have been married to other men as well. She died at the age of 26.
Quite young to die ( 26 ) even in that bygone era. Was it common for women to die so young and if so do you any idea of the cause of death ; childbirth perhaps ? Did men live longer back then , the same or shorter ? Thank you , Moniek
My guess is that the genetics had something to do with it as they often married siblings.
I believe that Ay’s successor Horemheb murdered Ankhesenamun when he took the throne. It does make sense to have buried her near Ay–out of sight, out of mind.
The ancient Egyptian royalty was riddled with genetic issues, from the marriage of siblings/other close family. Its quite possible that she may have died from one, Tut had many things that he inherited from his parents. Must have been awful to live with all that 🙁