Scientists Say Egypt is in Denial Over Hidden Rooms in King Tut's Tomb

Atlas Obscura ^ | May 12, 2016 | Erik Shilling

[SunkenCiv]

Scientists said earlier this year that they had found some secret rooms in Tutankhamen's tomb. What could they contain? A popular theory was the tomb of Queen Nefertiti. But other scientists later said that there was good reason to doubt the claims, which were based on scans.

Now, the situation has gotten a little bit uglier. A team of radar technicians performed a second, more detailed set of scans on the tomb earlier this year, and sent their results off to Egypt's ministry of antiquities. But the government now has refused to release their findings, and scientists are beginning to cry foul, according to the Guardian.

What could the government be hiding? Perhaps, the scientists say, the hidden tombs don't exist at all. The first scans have also been called into question, after Hirokatsu Watanabe, the Japanese radar specialist that performed them, refused to release raw data associated with the scans because, he said, no one else could understand it except for him.

"My understanding is that the Egyptians are in a state of denial about this," one unnamed scientist told the Guardian (even science reporting apparently requires anonymous sources sometimes). "They are freaking out, and it has become politically toxic. When you're the in the middle of a situation in which people are being purged because of their position on this, then scientists should back off and let the politics take its course. We have left the realm of science."

The Egyptian government has so far refused to address the issue, but scientists quoted in National Geographic, which organized the second round of radar scans, said flatly that the rooms aren't there.

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3430886/posts Is Egypt 'suppressing truth' about new King Tut research? ["state of de Nile"] This thread has been pulled. Pulled on 05/15/2016 5:04:05 PM PDT by Admin Moderator, reason: No link

[SunkenCiv]

[ChessExpert]

The thread is back! But for how long?

[COBOL2Java]

Scientists Say Egypt is in Denial...

Why, I always thought it was the other way around!

[MuttTheHoople]

[ifinnegan]

They found the wheat storage rooms.

[Paladin2]

Better that they recognize the scourge of Islam and get rid of that.

[BenLurkin]

Until the Men in Black pull the plug.

Can’t have the public finding out about the

[chajin]

One favorite bit of naughty humor was when Martin as Tut was asked what the curse of King Tut was, and he responded, “Sonovab*tch!”

[chajin]

Beat me to it :-)

[Lazamataz]

I hate you because you made the joke first.

[W.]

Heh, I saw that when it happened! SNL!

[SunkenCiv]

Experts Doubt Claims of 'Hidden Chambers' in King Tut's Tomb [2016] Scans of King Tut's Tomb Reveal Hidden Rooms, Egypt's Antiquities Ministry Says [2016] New scans of King Tut's tomb may reveal hidden chamber [...again...] [2016] Radar Finds Secret Chamber in King Tut's Tomb [2015] King Tutankhamun's tomb: Evidence grows for hidden chamber [2015] Infrared Scans Show Possible Hidden Chamber in King Tut's Tomb [2015] Where Is the Tomb of Queen Nefertiti? [2015] INTERVIEW: Egypt's antiquities minister speaks on the search for Nefertiti in Tutankhamun's tomb [2015] Egypt approves Radar for Nefertiti Tomb Quest [2015] Has Queen Nefertiti been found behind King Tut's tomb? [2015] King Tut and half of European men share DNA [2011] Half of European men share King Tut's DNA [2011] King Tut's Leftover Bandages Yield New Clues [2010] DNA studies show a frail King Tut succumbed to malaria and a broken leg [2010] Face of King Tut unshrouded to public [2007] Tutankhamun's True Face To Be Revealed [2007] Tutankhamun was not black: Egypt antiquities chief [2007] Mystery of Tut's Father: New Clues on Unidentified Mummy [2007] Demonstrators say King Tut exhibit depicts wrong skin color [2005] King Tut's skin color a topic of controversy [2005] King Tut Exhibit Outrages Activists [2005] Tutankhamun died of gangrene [2005] CT Scans Show What King Tut Looked Like [2005] Case closed on the end of King Tut (Scan Suggests No Murder) [2005] King Tut Not Murdered, but Leg Fracture May Have Caused Infection, Tests Show [2005] Egypt Hopes to Solve Riddle of Tutankhamun Death [2004]

[SunkenCiv]

The original was an AOL story, apparently the URLs are temporary and server-generated, in order to screw with, well, FR and other sites.

[SunkenCiv]

Ben was in there, working on Trump’s VP list.

[ClearCase_guy]

Hirokatsu Watanabe, the Japanese radar specialist that performed them, refused to release raw data associated with the scans because, he said, no one else could understand it except for him.

Settled Science!!

[Pelham]

“Scientists said earlier this year that they had found some secret rooms in Tutankhamen’s tomb.....But other scientists later said that there was good reason to doubt the claims,”

The science is settled. eom.

[Mount Athos]

This article is really confusing to me.

The scientists of the second test clearly state they don’t think the secret rooms exist.

So what is the government supposed to be in denial about?

[higgmeister]

It is a fact that the Egyptian way of building with sand supporting stones in the erection process and then evacuating the sand to settle the stones into place leaves large voids behind in the structure.

This sounds like bunk.