Joann Fletcher - Queen Nefertiti - Controversy

Controversy

Archaeology, a publication of the Archaeological Institute of America considered that Fletcher's "identification of the mummy in question as Nefertiti is balderdash" Mark Rose, "Where's Nefertiti?", Archaeology, September 16, 2004. "Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, subsequently banned her from working in Egypt because "Dr Fletcher has broken the rules". Hawass explained this action in an article in the newspaper Al-Ahram: "There are more than 300 foreign expeditions currently working in Egypt, and they all follow the same guidelines. We grant concessions to any scholar affiliate to a scientific or educational institution, and it has long been accepted code of ethics that any discovery made during excavations should first be reported to the SCA. By going first to the press with what might be considered a great discovery, Dr. Fletcher broke the bond made by York University with the Egyptian authorities. And by putting out in the popular media what is considered by most scholars to be an unsound theory, Dr. Fletcher has broken the rules and therefore, at least until we have reviewed the situation with her university, she must be banned from working in Egypt."

But Fletcher, who is no longer banned from working in Egypt, and the scientists who were involved are adamant the research proves that the KV35YL mummy is more likely than not Nefertiti.

One scholar from the University of Cambridge has written about the heavy censorship in Egyptological research "In media interviews over the years, Hawass has accused several well known archaeologists of smuggling, scientific fraud or other improprieties" Jo Marchant writing in the science journal nature commented "Hawass had a darker side: that as the years went on, he exerted excessive control and sought mainly to boost his own fame at the expense of other researchers and of high-quality science.

The same year Fletcher had her documentary with the Discovery Channel, Hawass also had a documentary saying he believes Nefertiti could be in the KV35 tomb. Hawass referred to the same mummy as did Fletcher and after finding out the mummy was not Nefertiti, he assumed the mummy was Queen Tiye the main wife of Amenhotep III, which was also incorrect. Dr Hawass's alternative studies on Queen Nefertiti can be seen on The National Geographic channel special "Nefertiti and The Lost Dynasty."

Dr Hawass on his 2010 Discovery Channel backed programme King Tut Unwrapped could not rule out the possibility that Nefertiti was Tutankhamun's mother. Neither could Mark Rose, writing again in Archaeology, February 16, 2010.Tut: Disease and DNA