Friday, April 1, 2022

Unraveling the Radiant Child of Amarna

 From Ancient Origins:

Ever since the discovery of KV62, the treasure-filled sepulcher of Tutankhamun, in 1922 – and even before that in 1907 when the mysterious Tomb 55 came to light – Amarna royals have always managed to make headlines globally. The search for the final resting place of Nefertiti captured the imagination of the public in 2015, but no headway has been made on that count yet. Just when the spirits of Egyptological scholars and enthusiasts began to wane, out of the blue, Ankhesenpaaten /Ankhesenamun, the third of six daughters born to the Pharaoh Akhenaten and his iconic queen, has suddenly become the center of attraction in recent times; thanks to archeologists holding out the hope of finding her burial. 

Of late, the Western Valley, also known as the Valley of the Monkeys, has grabbed the spotlight from its more renowned counterpart, the central Valley of the Kings. While the latter location in the eastern wing of the pharaonic necropolis has been the cynosure of all eyes for well over a century, owing to the wealth of burials of rulers and nobles found there, the Western Valley has thus far been largely ignored. It is generally assumed that this site is mostly devoid of tombs, because, apart from those of Amenhotep III (WV22), Aye (WV23), and the uninscribed and unfinished WV25 — which is purported to have been the beginnings of Akhenaten’s crypt while he ruled from Thebes at the start of his reign — no other burials have surfaced here. (Read more.)


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