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New scans suggest hidden rooms beyond Tutankhamun's tomb could hold Queen Nefertiti. Here's what we know, and how to see the Valley of the Kings yourself.
In September 2026, a research team led by Egypt's former antiquities minister, Dr Mamdouh Eldamaty, published new evidence suggesting there may be a passageway and several hidden chambers beyond the walls of Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62) in Luxor's Valley of the Kings. Some archaeologists believe these rooms could hold the lost burial of Queen Nefertiti. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the team has asked for permission to send a camera inside.
Here's what we know so far, why it matters, and how you can stand in the valley where it's all unfolding.
When Howard Carter opened Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, it became the most famous archaeological discovery in history. It was the most intact royal tomb ever found, packed with thousands of objects, from golden shrines to chariots.
But the tomb itself never quite made sense. It has just four rooms, and only the burial chamber is decorated. For a pharaoh of Egypt's powerful 18th Dynasty, that's remarkably modest.
The usual explanation is that Tutankhamun died suddenly, at around 19, before a proper royal tomb was ready. He was buried in a smaller tomb that was adapted in a hurry.
In 2015, British Egyptologist Dr Nicholas Reeves offered a different explanation. Studying detailed scans of the painted walls, he spotted faint lines that he believed could be sealed doorways.
His theory is that KV62 was originally built for someone else, a royal woman who ruled before Tutankhamun, and that only the outer rooms were reworked for the young king. Based on the tomb's layout and decoration, Reeves argues that person was Nefertiti.
Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the pharaoh Akhenaten, and many historians believe she was Tutankhamun's mother. She may even have ruled Egypt in her own right after Akhenaten's death. Yet her burial has never been found. Today, she's best known for her painted limestone bust, discovered in 1912 and now held in Berlin's Neues Museum.
Dr Eldamaty's team spent three years studying the tomb using a combination of radar, thermal imaging and measurements of structures buried deep in the rock. Their conclusions, published in the Occasional Papers of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project, suggest two things:
The tomb is likely older than Tutankhamun's burial, and bigger than traditionally believed. There are strong signs of at least one more storage room, plus what the team describes as a royal burial area continuing beyond the tomb's north wall.
The next step is to drill a hole just 8cm wide through the limestone hill above the tomb, so miniature cameras can see what's inside. The team has applied to Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities for permission.
This isn't the first time the theory has made headlines. Earlier radar surveys after 2015 produced conflicting results, and some later studies found no evidence of hidden rooms at all.
Even Dr Eldamaty acknowledges the chambers may not belong to Nefertiti herself. But he believes the evidence increasingly points to a link with Akhenaten's royal family.
If confirmed, this would be the most important discovery in the Valley of the Kings since 1922.
It could also shed light on the Amarna Period, one of the strangest chapters in ancient Egyptian history. Akhenaten abandoned Egypt's traditional gods to worship a single sun disc, the Aten, and built an entirely new capital. After his death, Tutankhamun reversed almost all of it. What happened in between, and who held power, remains one of Egypt's great unsolved mysteries.
Whatever the cameras find, this is a brilliant time to visit Egypt while the world's attention is on Luxor.
The Valley of the Kings sits on Luxor's West Bank and holds dozens of royal tombs cut into the desert cliffs, many still covered in vivid paintings. Tutankhamun's tomb is open to visitors on a separate ticket, and the boy king's mummy still rests inside.
The Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza now displays Tutankhamun's treasures together, so you can see what came out of the tomb before visiting the tomb itself.
On our small group Egypt tours, you'll explore both with local Egyptian guides who bring the history to life:
On 2 August 2027, Luxor lies in the path of one of the longest total solar eclipses of the century, with more than six minutes of darkness overhead. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the land of the pharaohs under a blacked-out sun. See our 2027 eclipse tour
No. Researchers believe hidden chambers may exist beyond Tutankhamun's tomb, but nothing has been confirmed, and the team is still waiting for permission to look inside.
Yes. KV62 is in the Valley of the Kings on Luxor's West Bank. It requires a separate ticket on top of general entry to the valley.
At the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Pyramids of Giza, which houses the full Tutankhamun collection.
Encounters Travel runs small group Egypt tours that include the Valley of the Kings with local guides, including Gods of Egypt, Classic Egypt, Discover Egypt and Ancient Encounters.
October to April, when temperatures are much cooler for exploring the tombs and temples.
Source: The National, 23 September 2026
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