The Younger Lady

The mummy was found adjacent to two other mummies in KV35: a young boy who died at around the age of 10, thought to be Webensenu, and another, older woman, identified as Queen Tiye by the recent DNA studies on Tutankhamun's lineage.[3] All were found together, lying naked side-by-side and unidentified in a small antechamber of the tomb. All three mummies had been extensively damaged by ancient tomb robbers.

The front view of the Younger Lady

A sketch made by Grafton Elliot Smith of the full body of the Younger Lady mummy, documenting the extensive damage that existed when he examined it

Dr. Grafton Elliot Smith provided an extensive description of the mummy in his survey of the ancient royal mummies at the beginning of the twentieth century. He found the mummy to be 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) in height, and judged her to have been no older than 25 years old at the time of death.[4] He also noted the major damage done by ancient tomb robbers, who smashed the anterior wall of the mummy's chest, and had torn the right arm off just below the shoulder.[4] Smith presumed that she was a member of the royal family.[4]

The Younger Lady has a gaping wound in the left side of her mouth and cheek. It had been thought that this wound, which also destroyed part of the jaw, had been the result of actions of the tomb robbers,[4] but a more recent re-examination of the mummy while it was undergoing genetic tests and CT scans determined that the wound had happened prior to death and that the injury had been lethal.[5] Julian Heath suggests that the wound was likely the result of an axe blow.[6]

Below her left breast there is another wound, likely to be the result of a stab wound.[6] In 2003, a scientific team from University of York, working under Joann Fletcher, examined the mummy. A member of the team realized that the face wound could have been a premortem wound, and not a postmortem wound as previously assumed. Instead of the Younger Lady's remains simply being mutilated after her death by tomb robbers motivated by malice, it seemed likely the Lady had been injured while still alive. The conclusion was considered uncertain.[7] At a later point, Ashraf Selim lent support to this theory. He noted that if the Younger Lady had been damaged following the embalming process, then bits of dried bone and flesh could be located in the mummy's wounds. Since no such findings occurred, he was certain that this was a pre-mortem wound. Further, Selim viewed the wound as too violent to be the result of an accident. The Lady had been injured in an act of deliberate violence.[7] The Egyptian Mummy Project which used a CT scan to examine the mummy, located "very few pieces of the relevant broken bones" in the sinus cavity. They concluded that the Younger Lady's face had been damaged before the embalming process, and likely prior to her death. Indeed, the face wound was determined to be a probable cause of death for the Lady.[7]

The missing right arm of the mummy was the cause of a minor controversy between researchers. Two severed arms had been located within KV35, and either one was thought likely to belong to the Younger Lady. One was a bent arm with a clenched fist, while the other was a straight arm. It was typical for Egyptian royal female mummies to be positioned with one of their arms bent and the other one in a straight position. The hand more likely to be positioned as bent was the left hand.[7] Ashraf Selim of The Egyptian Mummy Project examined both arms to resolve the controversy. The bent arm was compared to the Younger Lady's attached left hand, and was found to be too long to belong to the same woman. The bones of the two compared arms were also found "different in consistency". The straight arm was then compared to the Younger Lady's left arm. It was found to be of similar length and similar bone density, so the Project concluded that the straight arm most likely did belong to the Younger Lady.[7] The identified right arm of the Younger Lady has two breaks, "one in the upper arm and one at the wrist". The hand has been severed from the rest of the limb.[7]

A finding of lesser importance is that the Younger Lady has a double-pierced ear. Pierced ears were rather common for women of the New Kingdom of Egypt, including royals and nonroyal women. The Lady's pierced ear can not help researchers determine her identity or social position.[7] Similarly inconclusive for identification purposes was the discovery of a wig in KV35, which could have belonged to the Younger Lady. Supporters of the theory identifying the Lady with Nefertiti, pointed to the wig's perceived similarities with the type of wigs used by Nefertiti. They are fashion items used by Egyptian women of the same era; they can not help us identify the wig's user with the Queen.[7]

Following the CT scan of the Younger Lady, more detailed descriptions of the mummy have been published.[8] Despite previous disputes about the Lady's gender, the morphology of the skull and pelvis confirms that she was indeed a woman. The condition of the epiphyseal union and the closure of the cranial sutures suggest that the Lady was between 25 and 35 years old at the time of her death. The Lady's height was 1.58 meters from the vertex to the heel.[8]

The skull cavity contains only the shrunken and desiccated brain and dura mater of the Lady; there is no evidence of embalming material within the cranial cavity. There is an oval defect in the front of the skull; this hole has sharp, beveled, and festooned edges. The lack of evidence for attempted healing or sclerosis indicate that the defect was caused by a postmortem alteration of the body, probably during the embalming process. The embalmers likely used a sharp instrument on the skull.[8]

The left side of the lower face includes a large defect involving her left cheek, left maxillary sinus, alveolar process, and part of her left mandible. There are sharp edges in this bony defect, with no evidence of attempted healing or sclerosis. Fragments of the broken lateral wall of the left maxillary sinus were located within the antral cavity. Fragments for most of the Lady's fractured bones are missing, and were apparently not placed in her tomb.[8] This support the idea that the Lady's facial injury took place prior to her mummification. The researchers consider this to have been a perimortem injury, happening either shortly before the Lady's death or following her death. The lack of signs of healing support the idea that the injury was fatal. The small fragments of bone found within the maxillary antral sinus, at least indicate the direction of the trauma. Something was "pushing" the bones in, rather than "pulling" them out.[8] A heavy object striking the Lady's face would have such an effect. If not an intentional act, an accident involving the Lady receiving a strong kick from an animal, such as a horse, would have the same result; such acute facial trauma to a living person would cause severe shock and bleeding, likely resulting in death.[8]

The soft tissues located next to the facial defect were relatively thicker than the corresponding tissues on the intact and uninjured right side of her face. On top of the facial gap and partly beneath the remaining skin was a rolled embalming pack of linen impregnated with resin. A similar substance was located on the right side of the face, particularly the cheek and the mid-face. More clearly identified packs of linen were located in the periphery of the Lady's orbits, placed in front of the globes of the eyes. Resin was also located in the Lady's right nasal cavity.[8] The Lady's mouth is filled with linen. No embalming materials were placed within the Lady's throat.[8]

The Lady has several missing teeth due to her facial injury. Her right and left first incisors and the left canine tooth were affected by this fracture. The sockets of the right second incisor, the left first molar, and the left second molar are empty, with these teeth missing. The first and second left upper molars are partially fractured. Both the right and the left upper third molars are nonerupted. Conversely, the Lady's upper right canine, premolars, first molar, and second molar are still present. This group of teeth has no visible attrition, and no occlusal irregularity of their surface.[8]

The Lady had a double-pierced left ear. Part of the right auricle is missing so the number of piercings on this side is unknown.[8]

The Lady was found to have mild lumbar scoliosis. The curved spine of the mummy may be a postmortem condition, resulting from the position of the body during the mummification process. No structural abnormalities in the vertebrae, fractures, or congenital anomalies (birth defects) were found.[8]

There is a large defect in the front of the Lady's torso. The internal organs were removed by embalmers, with the exception of the heart which is still visible within the body. The embalming incision has been located in the left inguinal region and is 56 millimetres in length and 135 millimetres in depth.[8] The torso contains both linen fibers smeared with resin, and with linen packs treated with resin. One of the resin-treated linen packs was placed within the pelvis. The pelvic floor has a large defect, possibly used during the mummification process to remove the viscera. This would be an example of perineal evisceration.[8]

The left arm of the Lady extends beside her body, with the hand placed over the left hip. The right arm has been snapped off close to the shoulder. The break has gaping ends, with no evidence of attempted healing.[8] The disarticulated right arm has been placed beside the body. The right hand has been broken and completely separated from the wrist. This hand has been placed at the feet of the mummy.[8]

The pelvis contains small postmortem fractures, and the legs have also been damaged.[8] There is a subcutaneous filling at the back of the Lady's right hip region, where her buttock is located. The right tibia has a defective area at the front of the distal shaft. The defective area extends 33.5 millimetres above the ankle joint. The metatarsals of both feet are broken, and the front half of the feet are missing.[8]

Researchers have noted some peculiarities in the mummification process used on the Lady. The evisceration of the body and the stuffing of the torso with embalming materials were standard parts of the mummification process used during the entire reign of the 18th dynasty. This was not the case with the intact skull base and lack of effort to remove the brain, seen in the case of the Lady. This process had been used on early rulers of the 18th dynasty, as seen in the mummies currently identified with Thutmose I, Thutmose II, and Thutmose III. By the time of the later rulers of the 18th dynasty, when the Lady lived and died, the process had changed. All mummies from this later era contain some treatment of the brain, in attempts to remove it from the body. The mummification process used on the Lady seems like a throwback to an earlier era.[8] Another peculiarity is the evidence that the people behind the mummification process were trying to repair and cover injured areas of the body. They used subcutaneous fillings and packs to remodel the injured left side of the face, the contralateral side of the face, and the right hip region. This was not part of the regular efforts of an embalmer.[8]

While the CT scan researchers thought the Lady's death likely to be violent or accidental, they were less certain of what caused the skull defect and the defect in the anterior wall of the body. Whether they were perimortem or postmortem injuries to the body could not be determined. They could be the result of the same mysterious lethal incident as the facial injury, or caused long after the Lady's death by the ancient tomb robbers.[8]

Hermann Schögl, a Swiss Egyptologist, agrees with the medical and DNA findings of the teams working under Zahi Hawass, but disputes several of the identifications of the royal and noble mummies. Schögl agrees that the head injuries which the Lady received were lethal, and has suggested that she was killed in a chariot accident.[9] Schögl believes that the Younger Lady is Nefertiti, and that she was killed in a chariot accident during regnal year 14 of Akhenaten's reign. However, the archaeological findings from Akhenaten's reign seem to indicate that Nefertiti was still alive during regnal year 16, two years following the date Schögl has chosen for her death.[9] Marianne Eaton-Krauss, another Egyptologist, finds Schögl's alternative royal genealogy for the 18th dynasty and his attempted reconstruction of the final years of Akhenaten's reign to be rather unconvincing.[9]

There has been much speculation as to the identity of the Younger Lady mummy. Upon finding the mummy, Victor Loret initially believed it be that of a young man as the mummy's head had been shaved. A closer inspection later made by Dr. Grafton Elliot Smith confirmed that the mummy was that of a female, although Loret's original interpretation persisted for many years.

DNA tests have shown conclusively that the mummy is that of a female and that she was the mother of Tutankhamun.[3] The results also show that she was a full-sister to her husband, the mummy from KV55, and that they were both the children of Amenhotep III and Tiye.[3] This family relationship would lessen the possibility that the Younger Lady was either Nefertiti, or Akhenaten's secondary wife Kiya, because no known artifact accords either wife titles such as "King's sister" or "King's Daughter".[5] The possibility of the Younger Lady being Sitamun, Isis, or Henuttaneb is considered unlikely, as they were Great Royal Wives of their father Amenhotep III, and had Akhenaten married any of them, they would have taken the place of Nefertiti as the principal queen of Egypt. The report concludes that the mummy is likely to be Nebetah or Beketaten, daughters of Amenhotep III not known to have married their father, although he is known to have had eight daughters with Tiye.[5]

There are some Egyptologists who support the theory that the Younger Lady is indeed Nefertiti. Proponents of this identification interpret the DNA results as being the result of three generations of first cousin marriage rather than a single full sibling marriage.[10]

Marianne Eaton-Krauss has called attention to the apparent absence of the Younger Lady, as Tutankhamun/Tutankhaten's mother, from the available historical record of Ancient Egypt. As of the 2010s, nobody has been able to find an inscription, a relief, or a statue dedicated to this young Pharaoh's mother. KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun, contains memorabilia from his life and reign. None of these items ever mentions his mother.[9] This is in stark contrast to the influential queen mothers of the 18th dynasty, who had a large presence in the reigns of their sons. Tiaa served as queen mother to Thutmose IV, Mutemwiya as queen mother to Amenhotep III, and Tiye as queen mother to Akhenaten. It seems likely that Tutankhamun/Tutankhaten never had a queen mother, indicating that the Younger Lady (or any other mother) had died before his rise to the throne.[9]

Despite the Younger Lady being daughter to a Pharaoh (Amenhotep III), full sister and probable wife to a second Pharaoh (Akhenaten), and mother to a third Pharaoh (Tutankhamun/Tutankhaten), she herself does not appear to have been a prominent figure in her lifetime. Willeke Wendrich, an Egyptologist, considers it likely that the Lady was a minor wife or a concubine to Akhenaten, rather than his Queen.[11] Wendrich notes that the Pharaohs of Egypt typically had multiple wives. This often resulted in multiple sons serving as viable heirs to the throne, and potential competition between the sons to gain the right to succeed their father.[11]

On 7 February 2018, The Younger Lady was featured on the 7th episode of the 5th season of Expedition Unknown titled "Great Women of Ancient Egypt". On the assumption that she is indeed to be identified as Nefertiti and using preserved remains, modern technology and artistry, a team led by Expedition Unknown's host Josh Gates presented a reconstruction of what The Younger Lady would have looked like in her full royal regalia.[12] The bust was created by French paleoartist Élisabeth Daynès.[13]

• List of unsolved deaths

• Eaton-Krauss, Marianne (2016), "Alternative interpretations of the DNA data", The Unknown Tutankhamun, Bloomsbury Academic, ISBN 978-1472575630
• Hawass, Zahi A.; Saleem, Sahar N. (2016), "D. The mummy of the Younger Lady of KV35", Scanning the Pharaohs: CT Imaging of the New Kingdom Royal Mummies, American University in Cairo Press, ISBN 978-9774166730
• Hawass, Zahi A.; Saleem, Sahar N. (2016), "The Search for the Mummy of Queen Nefertiti", Scanning the Pharaohs: CT Imaging of the New Kingdom Royal Mummies, American University in Cairo Press, ISBN 978-9774166730
• Heath, Julian (2015), "Notes: Chapter 4:Controversies and Scandals in Egyptology", Archaeology Hotspot Egypt: Unearthing the Past for Armchair Archaeologists, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 978-0759124028