The Mystery of the Tomb 55 in the Valley of the Kings
Tomb number 55 in the Valley of the Kings is a mysterious tomb.
Inside, in fact, there is a sarcophagus with an uncertain identity. This sarcophagus, according to the latest hypothesis, seems to have been built for a woman, probably Queen Tiye, wife of Amenophis III. Later it was adapted to the body of a sovereign as confirmed by the uraeus, the false beard, the scepter and the scourge.
The mummy contained inside, first recognized as that of a woman, is actually that of a young man, probably dead around the age of 25 (Joyce Filer). Some scholars identify the body with the pharaoh Smenkhara, co-regent of Akhenaten in the last two years of his reign.
The reasons why Smenkhara was buried in Thebes are to be found in the possible attempt to reconcile with the clergy of Thebes after Akhenaton's controversial religious reform. A test, although not definitive, on the fact that the tomb was by Smenkhara, is provided by Connelly, a famous radiologist. He, after examining the body, found surprising analogies between the corpse of tomb 55 and Utankhamon. In fact the elements AZ and MN, which are found in the blood, are common to both mummies and a reconstruction of the face on the computer reveals an amazing similarity.
The scrolls on the sarcophagus have been carefully erased, while the funerary mask, from which perhaps the identity of the corpse could have been recognized, has been removed for some mysterious reason. The numerous objects found in the tomb place it unquestionably in the Amarnian period.
Someone put forward the hypothesis that the deceased could be the same Akhenaten (who however died around the age of 40) to whom the scrolls were destroyed and ruined the sarcophagus as a sign of contempt for his anti-Theban policy as indeed happened for all testimonies of his reign.
History of a discovery
After discussing with Davis, Ayrton gets permission to start excavations south of the tomb of Ramesses IX. It is January 1, 1907 when excavations begin.
Ayrton first finds vases and then discovers a series of steps leading to the entrance of a tomb. The seals on the door unequivocally prove that that is a royal tomb. After a careful examination, the chief inspector Arthur Weigall, who arrived at the scene as soon as he received the news, concludes that the wall was built after the tomb, which therefore must have already been sacked.
A corridor is opened, but the progress is made difficult by the presence of many rubble. At the end of the corridor a wooden panel with a gold leaf is discovered. The panel is cracked and allowed rainwater to filter. The tomb promises to be very interesting, but also very delicate.
Photographers and restorers are called to try to testify and safeguard the integrity of the tomb. On the right of the passage to enter the tomb a name is noted: Tiye. Tiye is the bride of Amenhotep III and the mother of Akhenaton.
Davis gets the heat from him and decides to move quickly towards the burial chamber. A room opens without decorations with pieces of wood, pieces of gold leaf and other objects on the floor. At the center a beautiful sarcophagus made partly of gold and full of more or less precious stones. It is the sarcophagus of Queen Tiye.
Other objects such as the Canopic vases, a panel depicting Akhenaten worshiping the god Aton are then found. The face of the sarcophagus is a gold mask mysteriously torn with a wooden base. Only one eyebrow and part of the right eye remain.
Compounding the already precarious conditions of the tomb is Davis' expedition which, without any precaution, even ruins the mummy. In 1907 the tomb is now completely empty of thieves and Davis himself. The mummy, already ruined, is further damaged by Davis who makes her teeth fall. The body, in a queen's position with the right arm along the side and the left one bent over the chest, is examined and an examination is also performed on the bones. There seems to be no doubt: the corpse belongs to a woman. Subsequently other tests are performed but they prove that the corpse is that of a man who died between the ages of 20 and 30.
Some Egyptologists say that this was the tomb of Akhenaten offered to him by his mother Tiye. The sarcophagus, originally built for Nefertiti, was adopted by Akhenaton who assumed the feminine position to symbolize the royal couple. Author of the transfer of the corpse of Akhenaton from Tell-El-Amarna would have been his heir Tutankhamun.
Other studies say that those are the remains of Smenkhara, Akhenaton's coreguard during his last two years of reign. He would have replaced the now defunct Nefertiti figure. Even today the paternity of the tomb and the mummy remains shrouded in mystery. There have been too many lootings and damage to establish their belonging with certainty.
