--- description: “It could be the discovery of the century." title: Mysterious Secret Chambers Found in King Tut's Tomb image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt100c8a029fba2e55/69888b69e20a8762b0a90029/king-tut-tomb-chambers-discovered.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mysterious Hidden Chambers Found in King Tut's Tomb  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 17, 2016 4:56 PM CUT  The sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun in its burial chamber. The sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun in its burial chamber.Cris Bouroncle—AFP/Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 17, 2016 4:56 PM CUT Experts believe they have found two undiscovered chambers lying behind the west and north walls of King Tut’s tomb, Egypt’s antiquities minister [announced](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/03/17/scans-king-tuts-tomb-find-hidden-rooms/81902976/ "undefined") Thursday. Minister Mamdouh El Damati said a team of Japanese experts [analyzed scans of the walls](http://time.com/4128511/king-tut-hidden-chamber-egypt-nefertiti/ "undefined"), and are 90% sure that two chambers containing organic and metal material lie behind Tutankhamun’s burial chamber, [USA Today reports](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/03/17/scans-king-tuts-tomb-find-hidden-rooms/81902976/ "undefined"). El Damati said the spaces may be [another burial chamber](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/03/17/scans-king-tuts-tomb-find-hidden-rooms/81902976/ "undefined"). Archaeologist Nicholas Reeves published a paper last year suggesting that [Nefertiti](http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/17/middleeast/nefertiti-tomb-radar/ "undefined"), generally accepted as Tut’s mother, could be buried behind the [tomb’s north wall](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160317-king-tut-tomb-hidden-chambers-radar-egypt-archaeology/ "undefined"). “It could be the discovery of the century,” El Damati said. “It is very important for Egyptian history and for all of the world.” Experts will scan the walls of the tomb again at the end of the month to investigate further what lies beyond Tut’s burial chamber. Egypt [had announced](http://time.com/4128511/king-tut-hidden-chamber-egypt-nefertiti/ "undefined") the possibility of a secret chamber in November. Archaeologist Howard Carter [uncovered](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160317-king-tut-tomb-hidden-chambers-radar-egypt-archaeology/ "undefined") the famed tomb in 1922. \[[_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/03/17/scans-king-tuts-tomb-find-hidden-rooms/81902976/ "undefined")_\]_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4263058/discovery-two-chambers-king-tut/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4263058/discovery-two-chambers-king-tut/"},"headline":"Mysterious Hidden Chambers Found in King Tut's Tomb","datePublished":"2016-03-17T16:56:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:00:04.597Z","description":"“It could be the discovery of the century”","url":"https://time.com/4263058/discovery-two-chambers-king-tut/","keywords":["Egypt"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt100c8a029fba2e55/69888b69e20a8762b0a90029/king-tut-tomb-chambers-discovered.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt100c8a029fba2e55/69888b69e20a8762b0a90029/king-tut-tomb-chambers-discovered.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"king tut tomb chambers discovered","caption":"king tut tomb chambers discovered","creditText":"Cris Bouroncle—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4263058/discovery-two-chambers-king-tut/","name":"Mysterious Hidden Chambers Found in King Tut's Tomb"}}]}] ```