Joann Fletcher
Encyclopedia
Dr. Joann Fletcher is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at the University of York
and Consultant Egyptologist for Harrogate Museums and Arts. She has undertaken excavation work in Egypt
, Yemen
, and the UK, and has examined mummies both on-site and in collections around the world. Dr. Fletcher writes for The Guardian
newspaper and the BBC
's History Online Web site, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio, most recently in Mummy Forensics, a programme on the History Channel.
in Egypt, where she claimed to have found the mummy of Queen Nefertiti
, among the cache in tomb KV35
. Her expedition was funded by the Discovery Channel
, which also produced a widely-criticized documentary on her findings. Dr. Fletcher's conclusions have been dismissed by some Egyptologists, who claim that the mummy in question was a male as young as 15 years old, and that evidence used to support Dr. Fletcher's theories is insufficient, circumstantial and inconclusive. However, it is debatable that DNA sexing, one of the lines of evidence used, is either (i) reliable in the case of material which has been extensively handled or (ii) that DNA sexing is reliable in material of this age/temperature history. Also, the theory has been previously published by Marianne Luban in 1999 in an article posted on the Internet, entitled "Do We Have the Mummy of Nefertiti?"
It is perhaps also worthy of note that a professor of anatomy, Sir Grafton Elliot Smith, in describing the mummification of the Younger Woman stated “Both in this mummy and in the other woman (no 61070) the rima pudendi [female genitals] was widely open and plugged from the inside with linen,”. And again commenting on the Younger Woman said “… it takes no great knowledge of anatomy to decide that the excellently preserved naked body (Loret’s pl. XI and XIV) is a young woman’s”.
This study, published in 1912, when the identity of this individual was of no great interest, is also in agreement with later scientific studies by radiologists and physical anthropologists. Given this clear anatomical evidence it could, perhaps, be argued that the use of DNA to determine sex, with all its inherent problems of contamination, is somewhat redundant.
Dr. Zahi Hawass
identified the Younger Woman as a middle-aged woman, Merytre-Hatshepsut
(also referred to as Hatshepsut-Merytre), the main wife of king Tuthmosis III. However, the DNA tests published in early 2010 (in an article co-authored by Hawass) have proven that the mummy was that of a sister of Akhenaten, and she was the mother of Tutankhamun.
considered that Fletcher's "identification of the mummy in question as Nefertiti is balderdash" Mark Rose, "Where's Nefertiti?", Archaeology, September 16, 2004. "Zahi Hawass
, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities
, subsequently banned her from working in Egypt because "Dr Fletcher has broken the rules". Hawass explained this action in an article in the newspaper Al-Ahram: "There are more than 300 foreign expeditions currently working in Egypt, and they all follow the same guidelines. We grant concessions to any scholar affiliate to a scientific or educational institution, and it has long been accepted code of ethics that any discovery made during excavations should first be reported to the SCA. By going first to the press with what might be considered a great discovery, Dr. Fletcher broke the bond made by York University with the Egyptian authorities. And by putting out in the popular media what is considered by most scholars to be an unsound theory, Dr. Fletcher has broken the rules and therefore, at least until we have reviewed the situation with her university, she must be banned from working in Egypt."
The same year Fletcher had her documentary with the Discovery Channel, Hawass also had a documentary saying he believes Nefertiti
could be in the KV35
tomb. Hawass referred to the same mummy as did Fletcher and after finding out the mummy was not Nefertiti, he assumed the mummy was Queen Tiye
the main wife of Amenhotep III
which was also incorrect. Dr Hawass's alternative studies on Queen Nefertiti can be seen on The National Geographic channel
special "Nefertiti and The Lost Dynasty."
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
and Consultant Egyptologist for Harrogate Museums and Arts. She has undertaken excavation work in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, and the UK, and has examined mummies both on-site and in collections around the world. Dr. Fletcher writes for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's History Online Web site, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio, most recently in Mummy Forensics, a programme on the History Channel.
Queen Nefertiti
In 2003, Dr. Fletcher took part in a controversial expedition to the Valley of the KingsValley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings , less often called the Valley of the Gates of the Kings , is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom .The valley stands on the west bank of...
in Egypt, where she claimed to have found the mummy of Queen Nefertiti
Nefertiti
Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only...
, among the cache in tomb KV35
KV35
Tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings is the tomb of Amenhotep II.It was discovered by Victor Loret in March 1898.-Layout and history:...
. Her expedition was funded by the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, which also produced a widely-criticized documentary on her findings. Dr. Fletcher's conclusions have been dismissed by some Egyptologists, who claim that the mummy in question was a male as young as 15 years old, and that evidence used to support Dr. Fletcher's theories is insufficient, circumstantial and inconclusive. However, it is debatable that DNA sexing, one of the lines of evidence used, is either (i) reliable in the case of material which has been extensively handled or (ii) that DNA sexing is reliable in material of this age/temperature history. Also, the theory has been previously published by Marianne Luban in 1999 in an article posted on the Internet, entitled "Do We Have the Mummy of Nefertiti?"
It is perhaps also worthy of note that a professor of anatomy, Sir Grafton Elliot Smith, in describing the mummification of the Younger Woman stated “Both in this mummy and in the other woman (no 61070) the rima pudendi [female genitals] was widely open and plugged from the inside with linen,”. And again commenting on the Younger Woman said “… it takes no great knowledge of anatomy to decide that the excellently preserved naked body (Loret’s pl. XI and XIV) is a young woman’s”.
This study, published in 1912, when the identity of this individual was of no great interest, is also in agreement with later scientific studies by radiologists and physical anthropologists. Given this clear anatomical evidence it could, perhaps, be argued that the use of DNA to determine sex, with all its inherent problems of contamination, is somewhat redundant.
Dr. Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley....
identified the Younger Woman as a middle-aged woman, Merytre-Hatshepsut
Merytre-Hatshepsut
Queen Merytre-Hatshepsut was the principal wife of Pharaoh Thutmose III and the mother of Amenhotep II.-Family:Merytre-Hatshepsut was of noble birth...
(also referred to as Hatshepsut-Merytre), the main wife of king Tuthmosis III. However, the DNA tests published in early 2010 (in an article co-authored by Hawass) have proven that the mummy was that of a sister of Akhenaten, and she was the mother of Tutankhamun.
Controversy
Archaeology, a publication of the Archaeological Institute of AmericaArchaeological Institute of America
The Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It has offices on the campus of Boston University and in New York City.The institute was founded in 1879,...
considered that Fletcher's "identification of the mummy in question as Nefertiti is balderdash" Mark Rose, "Where's Nefertiti?", Archaeology, September 16, 2004. "Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley....
, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities
Supreme Council of Antiquities
The Supreme Council of Antiquities is the branch of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture responsible for the conservation, protection and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in Egypt...
, subsequently banned her from working in Egypt because "Dr Fletcher has broken the rules". Hawass explained this action in an article in the newspaper Al-Ahram: "There are more than 300 foreign expeditions currently working in Egypt, and they all follow the same guidelines. We grant concessions to any scholar affiliate to a scientific or educational institution, and it has long been accepted code of ethics that any discovery made during excavations should first be reported to the SCA. By going first to the press with what might be considered a great discovery, Dr. Fletcher broke the bond made by York University with the Egyptian authorities. And by putting out in the popular media what is considered by most scholars to be an unsound theory, Dr. Fletcher has broken the rules and therefore, at least until we have reviewed the situation with her university, she must be banned from working in Egypt."
The same year Fletcher had her documentary with the Discovery Channel, Hawass also had a documentary saying he believes Nefertiti
Nefertiti
Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only...
could be in the KV35
KV35
Tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings is the tomb of Amenhotep II.It was discovered by Victor Loret in March 1898.-Layout and history:...
tomb. Hawass referred to the same mummy as did Fletcher and after finding out the mummy was not Nefertiti, he assumed the mummy was Queen Tiye
Tiye
Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
the main wife of Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...
which was also incorrect. Dr Hawass's alternative studies on Queen Nefertiti can be seen on The National Geographic channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
special "Nefertiti and The Lost Dynasty."
Publications
- (with George Hart) Chronicle of a Pharaoh : The Intimate Life of Amenhotep III, 2000. ISBN 0-19-521660-1
- The Egyptian Book of Living and Dying, 2002. ISBN 0-00-765375-1
- The Search for Nefertiti: The True Story of an Amazing Discovery, 2004. ISBN 0-06-058556-0
- (with Delia PembertonDelia PembertonDelia Pemberton is an author and lecturer in Egyptology, formerly with the British Museum and Birkbeck College, University of London, UK...
) Treasures of the Pharaohs, 2004. ISBN 0-8118-4424-2
External links
- Joann Fletcher (University of York staff page)
- "No Discrimination" – Article by Zahi HawassZahi HawassZahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley....
on Fletcher's Nefertiti claims and the media's reaction. - Disclosure - Block Buster Sciences - (CBC News Program)
- King Tut tut tut (Sunday Times article)
- http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/nefertiti/ 2004 by the Archaeological Institute of America