Egypt's Pharaoh Hatshepsut Said Found

[snopes]

The mummy of Hatshepsut, Egypt's greatest female pharaoh, has been finally located, thanks to advanced forensic technologies.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/0...queen_arc.html

[Joostik]

The link is dead; Discovery Channel seems to have removed the article.

Aparently there is still some doubt about the identification.

Egypt's chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, will hold a news conference in Cairo on Wednesday. The Discovery Channel said he would announce what it called the most important find in the Valley of the Kings since the discovery of King Tutankhamun.

The archaeologist, who asked not to be named, said the candidate for identification as the mummy of Hatshepsut was one of two females found in 1903 in a small tomb believed to be that of Hatshepsut's wet-nurse, Sitre In.

Several Egyptologists have speculated over the years that one of the mummies was that of the queen, who ruled from between 1503 and 1482 BC - at the height of ancient Egypt's power.

The archaeologist said Hawass would present new evidence for an identification but that not all Egyptologists are convinced he will be able to prove his case.

Also:

Discovery said a team of archaeologists would now carry out DNA testing on the 3 000 year-old mummy to confirm her identity.

[Koshka]

Is this the same mummy that was "positively identified" as Nefertiti in a Discovery special a couple years back?

[hambubba]

The announcement.

[TallGeekyGirl]

It's official:

"We are one hundred percent certain" the mummy belongs to Hatshepsut, Hawass told The Associated Press.

He said DNA and other scientific testing of a tooth found in a relic box containing some of the missing queen's organs had allowed Egyptologists to confirm that the unidentified mummy was in fact Hatshepsut.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science....ap/index.html

[Joostik]

BBC Article

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by Koshka

Is this the same mummy that was "positively identified" as Nefertiti in a Discovery special a couple years back?

If we're thinking of the same program with the specialist of ancient hair, it's not the same mummy. That candidate for Nefertiti was found in KV35 and Hatshepsut was in KV60.

[Morgaine]

We saw an exhibit of artifacts related to her life & reign this past December in Dallas at the Kimball. She was a facinating woman & I'm glad her mummy has been identified.

I don't claim to be an expert on either archeology or forensics (far from it!) so I ask this: Suppose they found testable DNA in a 3000+ y.o. mummy and want to use it to identify the late departed. What on contemporary earth could they compare it to? I mean, even if it was possible to relate it to other mummies then all it would prove that the two were relatives. The exact identity of the first mummy would not be verified as we are not likely to know the exact number of siblings, etc. And I won't even go into the matter of 3000 year old dental records.

OOPS, double-post!

[hambubba]

Originally Posted by TheTurtleMoves

Suppose they found testable DNA in a 3000+ y.o. mummy and want to use it to identify the late departed. What on contemporary earth could they compare it to? I mean, even if it was possible to relate it to other mummies then all it would prove that the two were relatives.

True; however, egyptologists have studied lineages extensively. Many, many mummies are identified. While one couldn't say in every case of a DNA match with any certainty, finding a DNA match AND the required burial placement AND any other items found with the mummy, AND other ancient references to the person or burial, you have a very reasonable basis on which to make a determination.

You work from what you know, and match what you can. Sometimes it works out very well.

[Wet Blanket]

"Oh my Queen," said the royal sorcerer to Hatshepsut, "With this amulet, you and your descendents are endowed by the goddess Isis...with the powers of the animals and the elements. You will soar as the falcon soars, run with the speed of gazelles, and command the elements of sky and earth." Three thousand years later, a young science teacher dug up this lost treasure and found she was heir to -- he Secrets of Isis! And so, unknown to even her closest friends, Rick Mason and Cindy Lee, she became a dual person. Andrea Thomas, teacher...
["OH MIGHTY ISIS!"]
...and Isis, dedicated foe of evil, defender of the weak, champion of Truth and Justice!

Just me, then?

[Skeptic]

I am a great fan of Dr Zahi Hawass. I've seen him on several shows, and enjoy his enthusiasm for his life's work.

Originally Posted by TheTurtleMoves

I don't claim to be an expert on either archeology or forensics (far from it!) so I ask this: Suppose they found testable DNA in a 3000+ y.o. mummy and want to use it to identify the late departed. What on contemporary earth could they compare it to

The methodology for identification was brilliantly conceived. Although the Egyptians were medically so advanced that they could do brain surgery (trepanning) they didn't know borscht about dentistry. Tooth problems were endemic. The mummy had several missing teeth, multiple infections and one tooth which had only PARTLY broken off.

In the Cairo museum there is a canopic jar containing the entrails of the Pharoah Queen H. Since Egyptians not only put inner organs into canopic jars, they also would put in anything else that was missing from the mummy. In THAT canopic jar was a part of a tooth which fit together perfectly with the broken one in the mummy's head. They conducted DNA tests on both broken tooth and remnant from canopic jar and results were positive.

It was sheer genius.