Owner of Mummified Legs Likely to Be Nefertari, Favorite Queen of Ramses II

They are not very pretty to look at now, but a pair of mummified legs are now believed to have belonged to a much sought after queen of ancient Egypt who had been buried in an elaborate and beautifully decorated tomb in the Valley of Queens.

Queen Nefertari was the favorite wife of ancient Egyptian monarch, Ramses II, as indicated by the wealth and beauty of her tomb. A pair of mummified legs were found in her tomb in 1904, however, researchers were never sure if they belonged to her as they could have come from a second occupant in the tomb. New research published in the Journal PLOS One has tentatively identified them as hers.

Nefertari is famous for her elaborate tomb and her possible royal ancestry and lineage from King Ay, who could have been either her father or grandfather. She was the second wife of Pharaoh Ramses II, wed to him when he was still crown prince under his father Sety I. Ramses II went on to marry three of his and Nefertari’s daughters.

PLOS One explains:

“Based on the legible/decipherable inscriptions on a fragment of a faience knob head or pommel found in her tomb, speculations were raised,” says the article, written by Michael E. Habicht and a team of medical, scientific and archaeological academics. “The item carries the throne name ‘Kheper-Kheperu-Ra’ and, is, therefore, connected with King Ay, who ruled Egypt for a few years after Tutankhamun. However, Nefertari did not carry the title ‘Daughter of a King’, which suggests that she was probably not from the main royal line.”