Nicholas Reeves


Carl Nicholas Reeves, FSA, is an English Egyptologist, at the Egyptian Expedition, University of Arizona.

Background

A specialist in Egyptian history and material culture, Reeves is a graduate in Ancient History from University College London. He received his Ph.D. in Egyptology from Durham University in 1984.
He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1994, and an Honorary Fellow of the Oriental Museum, Durham University in 1996. Between 1998 and 2004 he was Honorary Research Fellow in the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, and in 2010/2011 Sylvan C Coleman and Pamela Coleman Memorial Fellow in the Department of Egyptian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Museums

Reeves has been active in various museum and heritage roles, including: Curator in the former Department of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum ; Curator to Henry Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon at Highclere Castle ; Honorary Curator and Director of Collections for the Denys Eyre Bower Bequest at Chiddingstone Castle, Kent ; G.A.D. Tait Curator of Egyptian and Classical Art at Eton College ; Lila Acheson Wallace Associate Curator of Egyptian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Archaeology

Between 1998 and 2002 Reeves worked in the field as Director of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, undertaking four seasons of survey and excavation with an international team in search of evidence for the missing burials of the women of Akhenaten's court. The first stratigraphic excavation of the Valley ever attempted, among the features pinpointed was KV63, subsequently excavated by Otto Schaden then working for the University of Memphis. The project was re-initiated in 2014 at the University of Arizona.

Additional chambers within the tomb of Tutankhamun?

In a paper published in July, 2015, Reeves drew attention for the first time to distinct linear traces visible in high-resolution surface scans of the painted surfaces of the Burial Chamber within Tutankhamun's tomb. He argued that these linear traces may represent the "ghosts" of two hitherto unrecognized doorways giving access to: a still unexplored storage chamber on the west of room J, seemingly contemporary with the stocking of Tutankhamun's burial; and a pre-Tutankhamun continuation of KV 62 towards the north. The combined evidence of the tomb's basic queenly plan and the north wall scene's Amarna proportions and stylistic detail suggest the possibility that this continuation may lead to the undisturbed burial of Nefertiti herself.

Other activities

Reeves has organized or been intimately involved in several major exhibitions of Egyptian, Classical and Oriental art - at the British Museum, London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim, the Centro Cultural Conde Duque in Madrid, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Bordeaux, and several venues throughout Japan.
He has organized two international conferences: After Tutankhamun: an International Conference on the Valley of the Kings ; and The Amarna Royal Tombs Project 1998–2001.
Dedicated television documentaries on Reeves' work have been aired by The Learning Channel and Tokyo Broadcasting System .

Publications

Reeves has published many academic articles and several well-received books, including:
Reeves has also co-authored a children's book, entitled Into the Mummy's Tomb: The Real-life Discovery of Tutankhamun's Treasures.