04/07/2024
Mummy of Queen Tiye
The mummy of Queen Tiye was found within the second side chamber of the tomb of Amenhotep II. Found in 1898 by Victor Loret, it was discovered that Amenhotep II’s tomb had later been used by the Ancient Egyptian priesthood as a storage for many royal mummies spanning both the 18th and 19th Dynasties.
Tiye’s luscious and lengthy hair is a very distinguishable feature of her mummy, and it was this very hair that certified her identity, as rather amazingly, in his tomb, within one of four miniature sarcophagi marked with the Queen’s name, King Tutankhamun, was buried with a lock of his grandmother’s hair. (Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 60698)
Electron probe analysis of the hair in the 1970s concluded a match between the hair within Tutankhamun’s tomb and the hair upon the mummy of Queen Tiye.
More recent and more modern investigation in the 2010s using DNA analysis conducted by Dr. Zahar Saleem tells us with no uncertainty that the electron probe analysis was correct, and the hair is a total match.
What’s more is, the mummy who for so long was simply known as The Elder Lady was confirmed through modern DNA analysis also conducted by Dr. Zahar Saleem, to definitely be the daughter of Yuya and Thuya. This DNA match means, the identity of the mummy known for decades as The Elder Lady is absolutely Queen Tiye.
Queen Tiye’s body was mummified in the traditional ways of her time, and she is well-preserved despite postmortem injuries likely occurring during tomb robberies. The Queen’s left arm is raised in the royal pose across her chest, and her hand is firmly rigid in a clasping grip, as if she were to be holding something.
Sadly, what she was buried clutching is unfortunately missing and was more than likely pulled from her in antiquity. Tiye’s right arm is still attached to her body, laying alongside her and hovering slightly over her lower torso, her middle finger is absent.
Queen Tiye’s teeth have moderate ware and are in good shape for her age range, which is approximately somewhere between 40–50 years.
Fascinatingly, only one wisdom tooth remains embedded within the gum socket, and holes for the other three are present, indicating that they were removed in her lifetime, giving us an amazing insight into Ancient Egypt dentistry of her time period; the removal of wisdom teeth!
