A tale of two lovers

Could archaeologists be on the verge of the biggest find of modern times?

By Theodore May - GlobalPost
Published: May 6, 2009 05:29 ET
Page 3 of 3

All of this has led Hawass and Martinez to believe they’ve found the supporting cast for a royal burial. 

Two months ago, the team brought in technology capable of surveying the earth under the temple.

What the radar imaging found, both said, was stunning.

Within the series of chambers and passageways they had already discovered, they found three chambers, 20 to 25 meters underground, that seemed to be at the center of activity.

The team is now working at a furious pace to open these three chambers, one of which they believe may contain the lovers' remains.

Adding to the excitement, Martinez said, was the fact that the excavations so far have given no indication that the tombs have been tampered with since burial.

But the great discovery may not come as quickly as the two had hoped. President Hosni Mubarak’s summer house is a couple miles away, and security forces have, therefore, forbidden anyone from working in the temple between May and October.

If Hawass and Martinez can’t enter the chamber by month’s end, they’ll be forced to bide their time until the fall.

Neither has any idea whether they will be able to beat the clock.

And even if they do, there is no guarantee they’ll find what they’re looking for, meaning that the legend behind the demise of the famed Pharoah and her lover will endure.

More dispatches on Egypt:

How to save an oasis

Face time at the Cairo Zoo

The great Suez slowdown

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