“Discovery of the century”: Archaeologists believe they are approaching the ancient tomb of the legendary queen, King Tutankhamun’s wife, which is about 3,300 years old

Ankhesenamun, the queen of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, was 13 when she married nine-year-old Tut

SCIENTISTS believe they are closing in on the remains of legendary Egyptian King Tutankhamun’s wife.

The tragic Ankhesenamun, immortalised as the villain in blockbuster film The Mummy, was 13 when she married the nine-year-old pharaoh Tut, her half-brother.

Scientists may be closing in on the remains of Egyptian King Tutankhamun’s wife AnkhesenamunCredit: Getty – Contributor

She went on to marry Tut’s successor, Ay, her maternal grandfather, according to experts at Ancient Origins.

The third of six daughters and the queen of the Egypt’s 18th Dynasty is also thought to be the first wife of her own father, Akhenten.

Archaeologist Zahi Hawass discovered what he claimed was her final resting place in the Valley of the Kings using ground-penetrating radar in July.

The dig to uncover the mythical queen’s remains – a find he dubs the “discovery of the century” – is now finally underway, he announced on his website.

 

The final remains of Ankhesenamun, immortalised in film The Mummy, are believed to be buried in the Valley Of The KingsA new tomb was discovered in the Valley Of The Kings in July and scientists reckon it contains Tut’s wife

“In January 2018, Zahi Hawass launched his own excavations at the Valley of the Monkeys, a side valley in the area of the Valley Of The Kings,” a spokesman for the research team said.

They added: “The focus of the excavations is in the area in close proximity to the tomb of Ay, Tutankhamun’s successor.

“The radar scans in the area detected the presence of a possible entrance to a tomb at a depth of five metres (16ft).”

Alongside Italian researchers, Hawass had been excavating the area as part of  a fresh investigation into the boy king’s resting place – also in the Valley of The Kings – earlier this year.

Extended preview video for new ITV drama mini series Tutankhamun

Archaeologist Zahi Hawass discovered what he claimed was her final resting place in the Valley of the Kings (pictured) using ground-penetrating technologyCredit: Getty – Contributor

Tutankhamun is believed to have died before his burial chamber was built and buried in a rushCredit: Getty Images

Speaking when the excavation was first announced, Franco Porcelli, the project’s director, said: “Who knows what we might find as we scan the ground.”

The tomb was first discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in November 1922.

Carter’s patron Lord Carnarvon died weeks after the tomb was opened, fuelling supernatural rumours.

Carnarvon, who funded Carter’s expeditions, was believed to be the victim of a curse inscribed on the Pharoah’s tomb which claimed anyone who disturbed it would be “visited by wings of death”.

Is Nefertiti hidden behind Tutankhamun’s Tomb?

Hawass had been excavating the Valley of the Kings area as part of  a fresh investigation into the resting place of TutankhamunCredit: Getty – Contributor

Archaeologist Howard Carter removing oils from the coffin of Tutankhamen in 1922Credit: Getty – Contributor

The Brit was likely killed by an infected mosquito bite and no such inscription was ever found.

But some believe the burial site contains a secret room and the final resting place of the boy king’s step-mother Queen Nefertiti.

Porcelli, a professor of physics at the Polytechnic University in Turin said that his team’s mission will be the “final investigation” which will “provide an answer which is 99 per cent definitive”.

The team will use a bevy of high tech radar systems to detect the underground architecture and spot any anomalies in between the tomb walls.

The hunt is part of a larger study to map the ancient resting place of the Egyptian Pharaohs.

It is the third time researchers have entered the 3,300-year-old tomb in the past two years.

Doubts have been cast over the existence of the missing chamber.

Nicholas Reeves, a British Egyptologist at the University of Arizona first claimed to have spotted a secret room back in 2015.

Radar scans appeared to back up his theory, and were welcomed by Mamdouh Eldamaty, Egypt’s former minister of antiquity.

 

The bombshell news was met with concern, with the National Geographical Society failing to replicate similar results.

Scientists recently opened ancient Egyptian tomb after 3,600 years and were shocked to discover entire families intact, next to goats and the skeleton of a massive crocodile.