Results of cavity scans will return within one week to produce more details of what lies beyond Egypt's boy-king Tutankhamun's tomb walls, the Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled El Enany said on Friday (April 1). <br /> <br />In October, high-resolution scans suggested that the tomb of King Tut contained passages to two hidden chambers, including what one British archaeologist believes is the last resting place of Queen Nefertiti. <br /> <br />Since then an Egyptian-American team relying on several radar scans have been examining the northern and western walls of the ancient tomb. <br /> <br />If proven, the discovery would be the most significant this century and shed light on what remains a mysterious period of Egyptian history despite frenzied international interest. <br /> <br />The scans are still in the preliminary phase and El Enany said that more scans are required. <br /> <br />Officials have dismissed the possibility of any destruction of the tomb walls however El Enany said that if they are "100 percent" sure that cavities exist beyond the walls, a one-inch hole might be drilled. <br /> <br />British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves said that he believes Tutankhamun's mausoleum was originally occupied by Nefertiti, thought by experts to have been his step-mother, and that she has lain undisturbed behind what he believes is a partition wall for over 3,000 years. <br /> <br />Reeves developed his theory about Nefertiti's resting place after studying high-resolution scans he believes suggest the presence of two rooms hidden behind the northern and western walls of Tut's burial chamber. <br /> <br />He remains optimistic that something "remarkable" lies behind the walls. <br /> <br />Discovery of Nefertiti, whose chiselled cheek-bones and regal beauty were immortalized in a 3,300-year old bust now in a Berlin museum, would shed fresh light on what remains a mysterious period of Egyptian history. <br /> <br />It could also be a boon for Egypt's ailing tourism industry, which has suffered near endless setbacks since the uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and which is a vital source of foreign currency.
