Egyptian expert disputes new theory that Queen Nefertiti is in Tutankhamun's tomb

“Mr Reeves sold the air to us”, said Mr Hawass during an interview in Cairo. “I confirm that there is nothing at all behind the wall.

“He succeeded in saying something exciting – the tomb of Nefertiti is inside the tomb of Tutankhamun. But his theory is baseless.”

Mr Hawass promised that Mr Reeves would not be allowed to test his idea. “I will not allow – neither would any archaeologist allow – making a hole in Tutankhamun’s tomb,” he said. “The tomb is very vulnerable; any hole may expose the paintings to complete collapse.”

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Mr Reeves based his theory on high-resolution images of the interior of Tutankhamun’s tomb. He believes that two secret passageways are faintly visible through cracks and fissures.

In a recently published paper, The Burial of Nefertiti?, Mr Reeves sets out his belief that one passage could contain a mundane store room, but another could lead to Nefertiti’s tomb.

Mamdouh al-Damaty, the current minister of antiquities, has said that there is a 90 per cent chance that hidden chambers exist behind the walls of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

But Mr Hawass insisted that the new theory was not even worth examining. “It’s not logical that every archaeologist come up with an idea and you run after him – because theories are not based on evidence,” he said. “There is not a one per cent chance Reeves’s theory is correct.”

Mr Reeves believes that the tomb of Tutankhamun was originally built for Queen Nefertiti and that she lies undisturbed behind what he believes is a partition wall.

Meanwhile, Mr Hawass believes that the Pharaoh’s tomb was originally built for his brother, Ay. He suggests that because Tutankhamun died suddenly and unexpectedly, he was buried in his brother’s tomb.

As for the resting place of Queen Nefertiti, Mr Hawass has another theory; he says that she lies in Amarna, the remains of an ancient capital in the Nile Valley.

Mr Hawass also believes that one of two female mummies found in the Valley of the Queens is, in fact, Nefertiti.

The two mummies have been moved from tomb 21 to the Egyptian Museum for DNA testing.

The DNA of the unknown mummy will be compared with that of the recently discovered mummy of Queen Mutnodjmet, the sister of Nefertiti.

These tests would reveal the truth, said Mr Hawass, and there was no point in pursuing Mr Reeves’s theory and risking damage to Tutankhamun’s tomb.

“There is nobody in Egypt – whether the minister of archaeology or anyone else – who can take the responsibility for making a scratch in Tutankhamun’s tomb,” said Mr Hawass.

“So that is why I think that the idea was born dead.”