Controversial lighter skin for the latest rendition of Queen Nefertiti

Posted On: May 19th, 2018 at 15:57

Egypt
Have I missed a chapter? No, this article has, for failing to mention the one Egyptologist I have the most respect for – Dr. Joann Fletcher.
I watched with awe back in 2003 as the Discovery Channel, in the days when it produced quality documentaries (I don’t even watch TV any more), produced a programme in which Dr. Fletcher suggested one of the three bodies in the tomb KV35 was in fact none other than Queen Nefertiti. I still have a copy of that series, and there is a slightly poor copy available here:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3i7x91
It’s well worth a watch for those who aren’t aware of this saga. I have never believed the rhetoric that Akhenaton was such a heretic that their bodies were disposed of never to be found again. The stories made up around that period of Egyptian history don’t hold water, just like the Sahara desert, but that’s a whole other article for another day.
For me, the evidence was absolutely riveting and Dr. Fletcher put across her arguments with clarity and confidence. From that day onwards, I have never doubted her results that the body is indeed that of Queen Nefertiti.
Suffice to say that (sometimes bastard of a) man Dr. Zahi Hawass, then the director of the Ministry of Egyptian Antiquities, dismissed her findings and even banned her from Egypt based on some very loose accusations of not following protocol. Hawass had a history of carrying out such angry outbursts towards foreign researchers, but thankfully he is no longer in his post. For the record I don’t want to say too many bad things about him – he had done some amazing work – but his constant ridicule and outward aggression towards many researchers was nothing more than extremely unprofessional and often damaging to progressive scientific research.
The last rendition of Queen Nefertiti – a computer generated image based on the famous bust here:
https://www.stephenmaybury.co.uk/stunning-digital-rendition-of-queen-nefertiti/
shows the queen with a sandy coloured skin, thought to be the typical skin colour of the majority of ancient Egyptians and also that of the dynastic families, based on clear DNA evidence. Ancient Egyptians were most closely related to their modern counterparts, despite the many inane arguments online that the ancient Egyptians were sub-Saharan Africans and westerners are trying to whitewash history.
This new portrait of Nefertiti is based on the skull from the body in the tomb KV35, and clearly shows a likeness to the bust that is uncanny. She looks a bit miserable in the picture, but the skull structure is extremely similar to the bust. The controversy once again, however, is the skin colour. She looks like she’s just arrived on a boat from Italy, but I’ll forgo the racist arguments and concentrate on the likeness.
I once again bow down to Dr. Joann Fletcher and her amazing work, and hopefully she will be fully vindicated during her lifetime.

http://www.newsweek.com/ancient-egypt-queen-nefertiti-ancient-bust-fair-skin-800519