Hopes that there were hidden chambers to be found in King Tut's tomb appear to have been dashed after a third radar scan of the site found no such rooms.
The possibility that there were a pair of heretofore unknown chambers at the tomb created worldwide headlines when they were first announced as being spotted via ground-penetrating radar in 2015.
This sparked something of a strange saga as two different Egyptian officials confirmed the find and teased that the newly-discovered chambers were "full of treasures" and might even be the final resting place of Queen Nefertiti.
As the world waited to see how the investigation would proceed, the discovery was subsequently called into question when a second scan of the site failed to produce the same results.
The conflicting studies sparked spirited debate among Egyptologists as both sides of the hidden chamber argument accused their counterparts of unscrupulous tactics and media sensationalism.
It would seem, however, that the issue has been settled once and for all thanks to a third scan that was commissioned by the Egyptian government earlier this year.
The results of that study were released this past weekend and revealed that there are, in fact, no hidden chambers at the tomb.
As to why the initial scan indicated that the rooms were there, researchers speculate that the 'ghost signals' could have been caused by the paint on the walls of the tombs or Tut's sarcophagus contained within the room.
Although the archeologists behind the project expressed dismay that the study ultimately did not uncover previously-unknown chambers, they noted that their now-complete work did serve as 'proof of concept' when it comes to using ground-penetrating radar for less invasive examinations of historical sites.
While that confirmation may be gratifying to those who conceived of the project, it's no doubt disappointing to everyone who was hoping that the purported hidden chambers contained some kind of treasure.
Source: National Geographic
