A new investigation into mummies known as the Elder Lady (pictured) and the Younger Lady has revealed that neither is the legendary queen Nefertiti, says a National Geographic forensics team. (Related: "Egypt's Female Pharaoh Revealed by Chipped Tooth, Experts Say" [June 27, 2007].)

The two mummies were found without sarcophagi or wrappings in a small chamber in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Both had been identified as Nefertiti at different times. But a positive link was difficult to establish, because the corpses lacked the protective barriers typically provided to other mummies.

Based on CT scanning and other clues, the investigators instead speculate that the Elder Lady may be Queen Tiye, mother of the powerful pharaoh Akhenaten, who many experts believe is Tut's father. And the Younger Lady was probably Kiya, Akhenaten's second wife and the woman many archaeologists believe gave birth to Tut, the investigators say.

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