Queen Mutnodjmet: Another Branch in Tutankhamun's Genetic Line Found (and Lost)?

Dr. Zahi Hawass has a lot of irons in the fire, not the least of which is the unraveling of the DNA of the Eighteenth Dynasty.  He is currently awaiting peer confirmation on a second lab test that has confirmed that one of the fetuses recovered from Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 is indeed Tut’s daughter.  In the meanwhile, the inventor of the 24 hour workday has been busy at Horemheb’s tomb at Saqqara.

Horemheb, the last king of the celebrated Eighteenth Dynasty, was originally a powerful general who managed military affairs under Kings Tutankhamun and Ay prior to ascending to the throne himself.  While still a court official he prepared for the afterlife by constructing a tomb among the nobles at Saqqara.  But after becoming king he had a second tomb built for himself in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, while the Saqqara tomb was used for his first and second wives, Amenia and Mutnodjmet, respectively.

This week, in Al-Ahram Weekly (“Dig Days:  The Search for Queen Mutnodjmet”), Dr. Hawass relates that identification of the second of these queens, Mutnodjmet, may take us further into the lineage of Tutankhamen’s family, with a little help from Queen Nefertiti.  He points out that some Egyptologists think that in addition to Nefertiti, Pharaoh Ay had another daughter named Mutbernet, and that Mutbernet and Mutnodjmet may be the same person.

Archaeologist Geoffrey Martin, who is currently in charge of restoration efforts at Horemheb’s Saqqara tomb, believes that the mummies remains of a woman and a fetus discovered in the shaft outside the rooms of the tomb were dragged there by looters from the burial chamber below.  Based on burial apparatus belonging to the queen, including an alabaster funerary vase inscribed with the names and titles of Mutnodjmet, Martin thinks it is likely that the remains are those of the queen. 

The remains were subsequently determined by archaeologist and anthropologist Eugen Strouhal, who specializes in African History in general, and Egyptian anthropology in particular, to be those of a 40-45 year old woman who died in childbirth.  Given the age of the woman, her proximity to the burial chamber, and the funerary items associated with Mutnodjmet, Strouhal concurred that the remains were very likely those of the second queen of Horemheb.

Name that Body

Once Dr. Hawass receives final confirmation of Tutankhamun’s paternity regarding the fetus that was found in his tomb, he will then hopefully be able to identify Tut’s wife, Ankhesenamun.  Once that is done, he can then identify her mother, Nefertiti, from amongst the unidentified remains.  With Nefertiti’s remains positively identified, she can then be cross-compared to the remains of Mutnodjmet.  If these remains prove to be the sister of Queen Nefertiti, then we will know for certain that Mutnodjmet and Mutbernet was the same person, which will then open a new genetic branch in the Eighteenth Dynasty for exploration.

There is only one problem:  somebody has apparently misplaced the queen.  When Dr. Hawass was ready to begin examining the bones of Queen Mutnodjmet he naturally asked Geoffrey Martin about her whereabouts.  “When I questioned him about the location of the queen's skeletal remains, however, he could not give me an answer.”  Eugen Strouhal also attempted to relocate the queen’s remains, to no avail.  Dr. Hawass himself finally paid the Saqqara tomb a visit, but the queen remains AWOL.

“I have high hopes that we will be successful in our search to locate the bones of Queen Mutnodjmet,” Dr. Hawass states. 

Until then Dr. Hawass has other lines, genetic and otherwise, to pursue.  Stay tuned to Heritage Key for updates!

Image by Archivist Llewellyn (DNA double helix added by Keith Payne).  All rights reserved.

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About The Author

Keith Payne (follow me: )

Last three pieces by this author:

The Riddle of KV63 - King Tut's mom? | Discovery of Abydos: Examining the Work of the Penn-Yale-IFA Joint Expedition | Exclusive Interview: Dr. Josef Wegner discusses Abydos, Senwosret III, and Egyptian Funerary Practices

Keith Payne is a freelance writer whose subject matter has ranged from Appalachian culture and history to Ancient Egypt. He holds a B.A. in Sociology and has completed the coursework for an M.A. in the same, specializing in sociology of religion and the nature of belief.