The Younger Lady

The Younger Lady is the informal name for an ancient Egyptian mummy. The mummy was found in tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings by archaeologist Victor Loret in 1898.[1] The mummy is called KV35YL (with "YL" meaning "Younger Lady") and 61072. It is now kept in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Recent DNA tests have shown that this mummy is the mother of Pharaoh Tutankhamun and the daughter of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his Great Royal Wife Tiye. At first, some people believed that this mummy might be Nefertiti, but that idea was proven incorrect.[2] Nefertiti was never given the title of "King's daughter."[3]

Discovery

The mummy was found next to two other mummies in KV35. One was a young boy who died around the age of ten. People think he might be Webensenu. The other was an older woman. Recent DNA tests say she is Tiye, who might be related to Tutankhamun.[2] The three mummies were discovered together in a small room inside the tomb of Amenhotep II. They were lying next to each other naked. No one knew who they were. All three mummies had been badly damaged by ancient thieves who had broken into the tomb.

References

  1. ↑ Reeves, C. N.; Wilkinson, Richard H. (2008). The complete Valley of the Kings: tombs and treasures of Egypt's greatest Pharaohs (1. paperback ed ed.). London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-28403-2. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hawass, Zahi (2010-02-17). "Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family". JAMA. 303 (7): 638. doi:10.1001/jama.2010.121. ISSN 0098-7484.
  3. ↑ "Ray Johnson on the Forensic Reconstruciton of the "Younger Lady" | Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures". isac.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-01.