title: Queen Nefertari, the Royal Spouse of Pharaoh Ramses II: A Multidisciplinary Investigation of the Mummified Remains Found in Her Tomb (QV66).
abstract: Queen Nefertari, the favourite Royal Consort of Pharaoh Ramses II (Ancient Egypt, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty c. 1250 BC) is famous for her beautifully decorated tomb in the Valley of the Queens. Her burial was plundered in ancient times yet still many objects were found broken in the debris when the tomb was excavated. Amongst the found objects was a pair of mummified legs. They came to the Egyptian Museum in Turin and are henceforth regarded as the remains of this famous Queen, although they were never scientifically investigated. The following multidisciplinary investigation is the first ever performed on those remains. The results (radiocarbon dating, anthropology, paleopathology, genetics, chemistry and Egyptology) all strongly speak in favour of an identification of the remains as Nefertari's, although different explanations-albeit less likely-are considered and discussed. The legs probably belong to a lady, a fully adult individual, of about 40 years of age. The materials used for embalming are consistent with Ramesside mummification traditions and indeed all objects within the tomb robustly support the burial as of Queen Nefertari.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Habicht
authors.affiliation: University of Turin, Department of Public Health and Paediatric Sciences, Legal Medicine Section, Turin, Italy.|UMR 7258, Laboratoire d'Anthropologie bio-culturelle, Droit, Etique & Santé (Adés), Faculté de Médecine de Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bianucci
authors.affiliation: University of York, Department of Archaeology, York, United Kingdom.|BioArCh, Departments of Archaeology, Biology & Chemistry, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.affiliation: University of York, Department of Archaeology, York, United Kingdom.|BioArCh, Departments of Archaeology, Biology & Chemistry, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Joann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Abigail S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Bouwman
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.|University Hospital Zurich, Department of Radiology, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Lena M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Öhrström
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seiler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Francesco M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Galassi
authors.affiliation: Ion Beam Physics. Labor f. Ionenstrahlphysik (LIP), ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Irka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hajdas
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Museo Egizio of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vassilika
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Böni
authors.affiliation: Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henneberg
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Rühli
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D000076144:Egypt, Ancient; D004615:Embalming / Q000379:methods*; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D009106:Mummies / Q000266:history*; D010164:Paleopathology / Q000379:methods*; D055110:Radiometric Dating; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial