Ankhesenamun - Mummy KV21A

Mummy KV21A

DNA testing announced in February 2010 has speculated that her mummy is one of two 18th Dynasty queens recovered from KV21 in the Valley of the Kings. The two fetuses found buried with Tutankhamun have been proven to be his children, and the current theory is Ankhesenamun is their mother. Not enough DNA was able to be retrieved from the mummies in KV21 to make positive identities of the queens. Enough DNA was pulled to show, that the mummy known as KV21a fits as the mother of the two fetuses in Tutankhamun's tomb. The assumption that she is Ankhesenamun fits with her being the only known wife of Tutankhamun in the historical record. There is however one problem with this identification: if KV21a is Ankhesenamun, then the KV55 mummy cannot be Akhenaten, known to be her father from historical records. The DNA retrieved of the KV21a mummy fits with her being the mother of the fetuses, but not the daughter of KV55. Therefore: A) this mummy is not Ankhesenamun, but another, unknown wife of Tutankhamun, or B) the KV55 mummy is not Akhenaten, but another brother of his, possibly the ephemeral Smenkhare. The KV21a mummy though, does have DNA consistent with the 18th dynasty royal line, therefore fits as a member of the Thutmosid ruling house.