2015 · Tomb KV62, Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt
Hidden rooms behind Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62)?
The burial chamber of Tutankhamun's tomb (KV62) with the sarcophagus in front. The painted north wall, on the right, is the wall Nicholas Reeves argued hides a sealed doorway; the west wall with its rows of baboons is at the back. · Romagy / Wikimedia Commons
When2015–2020
WhereTomb KV62, Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt
In 2015 Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves read laser scans of Tutankhamun's burial chamber as showing sealed doorways, possibly to the tomb of Nefertiti, and a first radar scan seemed to agree. A 2016 survey found nothing, and a 2018 Italian survey ruled out hidden chambers, but a 2020 team reported a corridor-like space. Nobody has drilled, so the question stays open.
How plausible · Moderate
Named scientists on both sides; one survey rules chambers out, two others point to something; nobody has drilled.
- ●●Access Laser scans and radar inside the tomb.
- ●●Character record An Egyptologist and published radar teams.
- ●●Checkable details check out Surveys are published or reported in Nature.
- ●○No gain sought Academic work, with some TV funding.
- ●○Restraint Reeves presents it as a hypothesis.
- ●○Independent convergence Watanabe 2015 and Eldamaty 2020 both see something.
Against
- −Contradicted by an insider The Turin survey concluded "conclusively no hidden chambers".
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
Claims
Laser scans show traces of sealed doorways in the north and west walls of the burial chamber; the tomb may continue into Nefertiti's burial.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedNicholas Reeves (2015)
A 2015 radar scan gave a 90% chance of rooms behind the walls.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedHirokatsu Watanabe (2015)
A National Geographic radar survey in 2016 found nothing; a third survey by Politecnico di Torino concluded 'conclusively no hidden chambers' (2018, Journal of Cultural Heritage 2019).firsthandOn the recordFrancesco Porcelli et al.
A 2020 survey reported a corridor-like space beyond the tomb's north side.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedMamdouh Eldamaty's team (unpublished; reported in Nature 2020)