British archaeologist claims digital images show lost tomb of Queen Nefertiti

A British archaeologist believes he may have discovered the long-sought- for tomb of Nefertiti, the ancient Egyptian queen.

Dr Nicholas Reeves, a residential scholar at the University of Arizona, claims the tomb is hidden behind a 'ghost doorway' in the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings.

Dr Reeves's research examines high-resolution scans of Tutankhamen's burial chamber.

He says these show two hidden entrances, one to a store room, and one to another burial chamber, hidden behind the painted plaster of the walls of Tutankhamen's own burial room.

The unusually small size and positioning of Tutankhamen's final resting place has puzzled archaeologists since its discovery in 1922.

Dr Reeve's explanation, that the tomb is an extension of a chamber originally built for Nefertiti, offers an explanation to that the mystery.

Tutankhamen, the 'boy king' of ancient Egypt, whose rule ended when he died aged 17, is thought to be the son of Nefertiti.

Nefertiti, famed or her beauty, was the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, ruling with him as queen of Egypt in the 14th century BC.

Her tomb has been thought lost for centuries.