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NefertitiEgyptian ruler
Country:
 Egypt |
Content:
- Biography of Nefertiti
- The Sensational Discovery
- A Reconstruction of Nefertiti
- The Controversy Surrounding Nefertiti
Biography of Nefertiti
The Beauty Who RuledNefertiti, an Egyptian ruler, has long been the epitome of beauty. If someone wants to compliment a girl's beauty, they compare her to this Egyptian queen. Interestingly, the name "Nefertiti" translates from ancient Egyptian as "the beautiful one has come." The first people to learn about her were archaeologists. In 1912, they discovered poetic and delicate depictions of the queen, created by the master sculptor Thutmose, in Amarna. Today, sculptures of the legendary beauty are housed in museums in Cairo and Berlin. Nefertiti lived in ancient Egypt in the 14th century BCE, approximately 3400 years ago. She was the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. The couple gained fame as great reformers, as they established a new capital of Egypt, Amarna, and attempted to spread their own religion among their subjects. Their religion aimed to replace all local idols with a single god, the sun god. Naturally, the religious autonomy of Akhenaten and Nefertiti undermined the power of the priests. However, as long as Akhenaten was alive, the priests could not interfere with the innovations. When Akhenaten died, Nefertiti seized power. She managed to be the sole ruler for several years. This fact leads scholars to think about the disappearance of images of Akhenaten's wife from wall paintings in the 14th year of his reign and the emergence of portraits of the pharaoh-queen. However, poor Nefertiti fell victim to a palace conspiracy. Recently, English researcher Joanna Fletcher discovered her remains. The mummy was dusty in one of the numerous tombs of the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. The body preserved evidence of serious injuries to the back, inflicted during her lifetime. Additionally, what remained of Nefertiti's body was extensively mutilated after death. Thus, the priests hoped to deprive the displeasing queen of a happy afterlife. They also destroyed all stone depictions of the beauty. However, royal treasures were preserved in the broken chest of the mummy.
The Sensational Discovery
The discovery of Nefertiti's body was a true sensation! Ms. Fletcher is a renowned expert on ancient Egyptian hairstyles. She searched for Nefertiti for 12 years, stumbling upon records made over a century ago by her colleague, Victor Loret. While describing Tomb N KV35, he mentioned a wig in the Nubian style and the mummy of a woman with a shaved skull lying on the stone floor. Joanna Fletcher found the wig in the Cairo Museum and proved that it indeed belonged to a royal figure. Only rulers of the 18th dynasty wore similar wigs, which confirms that it belonged to Nefertiti.
A Reconstruction of Nefertiti
For the past two years, the Englishwoman has been conducting expeditions to study mummies. She found the necessary tomb and obtained permission to open it. What Fletcher saw confirmed her suspicions: the position of the hands, remnants of jewelry, and even the shape of the nails indicated that the mummy was the former wife of the pharaoh. The woman's swan-like neck and distinctive profile immediately caught the eye. However, the face was damaged. That's when Joanna enlisted the help of two forensic experts, Damian Schofield and Martin Evison, who specialize in facial reconstruction from skulls. They brought the latest technology from London to the tomb. Using three-dimensional graphics based on their scans, researchers from the University of Nottingham reconstructed the queen's likeness. And what did the scientists see? Expressive Eastern eyes, plump lips... When they added the royal crown to the portrait, everyone was amazed: Nefertiti's exact likeness appeared on the screen! The image strongly resembled the famous bust housed in the Berlin Museum.
The Controversy Surrounding Nefertiti
By the way, did you know that the ancient beauty resembled a modern punk? She had to shave her head to wear the enormous crown, and she wore two earrings in each ear! But is the mummy N KV35 really Nefertiti? Not everyone is convinced. "Ms. Fletcher's conclusions may be a mistake, and her evidence is not entirely convincing!" said Zahi Hawass, the head of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. "One cannot claim that the mummy belongs to Nefertiti solely because it resembles a sculpture. In those times, artists often depicted rulers with embellished features, rather than their actual facial characteristics!"
