Brando Quilici

Together these features lend credence to Reeves’s theory, which he made public in July. Since then examinations of the physical features of the burial chamber have added support. But until the tests began on Thursday, the evidence ran no deeper than the surface of the walls. Radar scans had never previously been conducted in the tomb, and they represent a crucial step in the investigation.

2015 was a year when archaeology frequently made headlines around the world, but unfortunately, it was all too often for the same terrible reason. This was the year when ISIS (Islamic State) released their full destructive fury on ancient sites and cultural monuments across Syria and Iraq. But this was also the year that archaeologists triumphed in the field.

The first scans in the tomb happened to be scheduled for Thanksgiving, and they began at dusk, after the tourists had left and the Valley of the Kings had fallen silent. Watanabe had last worked in the Valley 15 years ago on another Reeves project. Those scans revealed a number of features that appeared to be underground chambers, one of which turned out to be a tomb.