The former Minister of Antiquities has been on the hunt for the Queen of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt for years. Two years ago he told Express.co.uk that things were starting to heat up in the Valley of the Kings – where Howard Carter famously found Tutankhamun in 1922. And now Dr Hawass has stated that he will announce a major discovery this month.

In the same interview, the 73-year-old highlighted that finding Nefertiti’s tomb would be “the greatest discovery of the 21st century”.

And Egyptologist Dr Chris Naunton has told Express.co.uk that there is a possibility that he may have already found the final resting place of the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, he said: “It sounds like he’s already discovered something, but he’s not quite ready to reveal it.

“The best possible scenario would be that it’s clearly and obviously the tomb of Nefertiti.

“Let’s say it’s intact, or near intact – in that scenario, we stand to learn a lot about one of the most fascinating and intriguing figures in history.

“We now think she probably was pharaoh, which adds to the importance of her find.

“It’s important to stress, though, that the tomb might be discovered and it might be unfinished, undecorated, violated, or suffered great damage.”

Even if the announcement is not the discovery of a tomb, Dr Naunton says it could still be of great value to archaeologists.

He added: “We might only be looking at scraps and that would still be very interesting.

                                 © GETTY Dr Zahi Hawass will make an announcement this month

“If we could be clear that there was a tomb of Nefertiti in the Valley of the Kings, that in itself will be useful.

“Until he makes the announcement, we don’t know.”

DNA analysis now points to Tutankhamun’s father being Pharaoh Akhenaten, reported to be the mummy found in the tomb KV55 – across the road in the Valley of the Kings.

Some are arguing his mother was Nefertiti, and so Dr Naunton said her tomb discovery could “potentially” be as huge as Mr Carter’s.

He explained: “What made that discovery so incredible was it was 99.9 percent intact and full of knock-out goods.

Source: Express.co.uk