Earlier this month, the Egypt’s antiquities ministry announced that new radar scans have provided conclusive evidence that there are no hidden rooms inside King Tutankhamun’s burial chamber, bringing a disappointing end to years of excitement over the prospect having hidden rooms or chambers behind the tomb.

The recent work was performed by an Italian team of experts who conducted extensive studies with ground-penetrating radar that showed the tomb did not contain any hidden, man-made blocking walls as was earlier suspected. Professor Francesco Porcelli of the Polytechnic University of Turin presented the findings at an international conference in Cairo earlier in the month (May 2018).

In 2015, British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves proposed, after analysis of high-definition laser scans, that queen Nefertiti’s tomb could be concealed behind wall paintings in the famed boy king’s burial chamber. At the time, the suggestion created a great deal of interest. In fact, two previous scans by Japanese and American scientists had proved inconclusive, but the latest ground-penetrating radar data is conclusive and allows no doubt on any such hidden chambers.

The Egypt’s ministry of antiquities has been gradually moving King Tut’s belongings to a new museum outside Cairo near the Giza Pyramids to undergo restoration before they are put on display. The transfer of the priceless belongings has become a particularly sensitive issue. It has been reported by some news outlets that in 2014 the beard attached to the ancient Egyptian monarch’s golden mask was accidentally knocked off and then poorly reattached with an epoxy glue compound, sparking uproar among archaeologists. It has been reported that the first phase of the new museum, including King Tut’s halls, will be completed by the end of this year but the date for the museum’s “soft opening” has yet to be decided. The museum currently hosts more than 43,200 artifacts of which over 4,500 belong to King Tut alone, and its grand opening is planned for 2022.

During the fourth International Tutankhamun Conference in Cairo Professor Porcelli presented the findings of his team which includes the most extensive radar survey of the site to date. The meeting was attended by a wide range of Egyptologists and archaeologists from the world over.

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