The first initial scans of Egyptian King Tutankhamun’s tomb are in—and they bring hopeful news, because there is indeed evidence of a secret chamber hidden within.
After finally receiving clearance from a panel of scientists, researchers began examining the tomb yesterday using infrared technology to test the now-famed theory of English Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, according to the Guardian.
Namely: That Tutankhamun, who died suddenly at a young age, was hastily buried in the tomb of his possible stepmother, Nefertiti. Nefertiti (or another queen) was then relocated to a different chamber within her tomb, whose entrance was sealed over with plaster.
Previously, this idea was supported by scratchings and marking on the plaster of the northern and western walls inside, along with high-resolution imaging that “revealed several very interesting features which look not at all natural,” explained Reeves. “They feature like very straight lines which are 90 degrees to the ground, positioned so as to correspond with other features within the tomb.”
“This indicates that the western and northern walls of Tutankhamun’s tomb could hide two burial chambers,” the Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, Mamdouh el-Damaty, had added to the Egyptian state press.
Infrared thermography hints at hidden chamber
And now, as reported by National Geographic, the team received possibly significant results using infrared thermography, which measures how temperatures distribute across a surface.
“The preliminary analysis indicates the presence of an area different in its temperature than the other parts of the northern wall,” el-Damaty told National Geographic.
Such a temperature variation could derive from an open area behind the wall—as in, a hidden chamber, and possibly a second burial room.
Of course, this isn’t conclusive yet. “A number of experiments will be carried out to determine more accurately the area marking the difference in temperature,” said el-Damaty. According to the Minister, it will take at least a week more of using the thermography equipment to confirm these results, and to pinpoint which specific part of the wall shows this temperature difference.