Thread by @firstladyship

1. Who was this most remarkable beautiful Nile princess steeped in mystery & fascination, who later became queen Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti? Who was this my alter ego? Where is her tomb or secret burial chamber? It’s a thread.👇

2. Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti, whose name means "a beautiful woman has come, beautiful are the beauties of Aten,” as a show of her ‘absolutism’ for a new religion, was the queen of Egypt & wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, during the 14th century BC.

3. Around 1350 BC, Nefertiti aged 15, became the queen of Egypt & the Nile. Alongside her husband Akhenaten, they created a new religious order.

4. Queen Nefertiti & her husband had created a new state religion that rejected Egypt’s polytheism. They rather worshipped the sun god Aten, as the one true god of ancient Egypt. Her husband went to great lengths to display her as his equal.

5. Here you could see queen Nefertiti & Akhenaten offer prayers to the sun god Aten.

6. Of course this was taboo, it was forbidden, never before heard of. So later Pharaohs branded this monotheistic religion ‘heresy’ & they sought to destroy records of Akhenaten & Nefertiti’s reign.

7. When her husband Akhenaten transcended to the afterlife, historians & Egyptologists believe Nefertiti continued to rule Egypt as Pharoah, until her stepson & boy king Tutankhamun ascended to the throne.

8. Some scholars believe Nefertiti became known as Pharaoh Smenkhkare, & ruled Egypt after her husband’s death. But despite Nefertiti being one of the most famous of all queens in ancient Egypt, her tomb has never been found.

9. Scholars believe the tomb of Tutankhamun was meant to be the final resting place of queen Nefertiti. Egyptologists believe there could be a hidden tomb behind the North wall of boy king Tutankhamun’s tomb, & it could well belong to queen Nefertiti.

10. But why? Why would her tomb be repurposed for the boy king? Clues could be found in Tutankhamun’s mummified body.

11. A scan of king Tut’s mummy reveal that he died as a boy. He was sick most of his life & his sudden death wasn’t prepared for. So there was no tomb ready for him at the time of death.

12. So Tutankhamun had to use someone’s tomb. Maybe he used the tomb already prepared to receive Nefertiti in the afterlife. This is highly controversial & a disputed theory till present day.

13. But what if it’s true? It could be the greatest discovery in the “Valley of the Kings” since archaeologist Howard Carter discovered Tut’s tomb, in 1922.

14. You could see the god Osiris image of Tutankhamun, modified to look like queen Nefertiti. This makes many believe the tomb was originally the final resting place of Neferneferuaten.

15. If this theory is right, then it will become the biggest discovery in Egyptology for 3 millennia. The story of boy king Tutankhamun is never complete without his stepmother, queen Nefertiti.

16. King Tut was so young & frail, but he likened his image to that of gods like “Sobek” to rule his people. He later became ancient Egypt’s all-powerful protector.

17. Tut sent his men deep into the desert for gold to fill his tomb with treasures for the afterlife. A tomb that may yet hide a secret chamber missed by explorers & ancient grave robbers.

18. Tut’s men returned with treasures, one of which is now seen by the whole world as the image of his famous Gold Mask.

19. Until the hidden chambers in King Tut’s tomb are further explored by archeologists, we may never witness the discovery of this most remarkable beauty in ancient Egypt’s history.

20. Only when her tomb is found, will we find out whether Nefertiti, “the beautiful woman has come” has finally made her return!!