3,400-year-old mummy is brought back to life with controversial fair skin using 3D scans

The glamorous face of Queen Nefertiti, who could have been the mother of King Tutankhamun, has been brought to life using the latest 3D imaging technology.

It took 500 hours to recreate the bust and the jewellery was even handcrafted by designers from Dior. 

However, the color of the 3,400-year-old queen's skin has raised controversy with people claiming she would not have been so fair in real life, the Daily Mail reports.

Scientists from the University of Bristol digitally mapped the face of the ancient queen, which will be aired on the US Travel Channel's Expedition Unknown on Wednesday night.

This was done in order to make an accurate reconstruction which took paleoartist Elisabeth Daynes 500 hours to recreate.

The extraordinary sculpture provides an accurate depiction of her appearance in life and bolsters the theory that the mummy of King Tutankhamun's biological mother, nicknamed the “Younger Lady,” is also Queen Nefertiti.


Nefertiti, who ruled Egypt 3,300 years ago from 1353 to 1336 BC, was either the mother or stepmother of the boy-pharaoh King Tutankhamun.

Her power and charms in 14th-century BC Egypt were so great that she collected many nicknames, too – from Lady Of All Women, to Great Of Praises, to Sweet Of Love.

Egyptologist Dr Aidan Dodson of Bristol University received permission from Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities and The Egyptian Museum to remove the protective glass case covering the mummy to examine the mummy.

Her full name, Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, means "Beautiful are the Beauties of Aten, the Beautiful One has come".

Her power and charms in 14th-century BC Egypt were so great that she collected many nicknames, too – from Lady Of All Women, to Great Of Praises, to Sweet Of Love.

Egyptologist Dr Aidan Dodson of Bristol University received permission from Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities and The Egyptian Museum to remove the protective glass case covering the mummy to examine the mummy.