Nanny Maia may be the sister of Pharaoh Tutankhamun

Archaeologists believe Maia, the nanny of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, could be his sister. Egyptian officials and French archaeologist Alain Zivie unearthed Maia's tomb, before officially opening the tomb to welcome visitors in January 2016.

Maia's tomb was discovered by Zivie in 1996 in Saqqara, a cemetery located about 20km south of Cairo.

Maia is the nanny of Tutankhamun, the famous Pharaoh. DNA test results showed that Pharaoh Akhenaten was Tutankhamun's father.

The figure depicts Maia (left) and King Tutankhamun (right).(Photo: Wikipedia).

However, his mother's identity is still in the veil of mystery. Some theories suggest that the mother of this young king was Queen Nefertiti or perhaps one of his aunts.

Archaeologist Alain Zivie said: "Maia is none other than Tutankhamun's half-sister or half-mother. It is quite possible that she is the daughter of Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti."

Mr. Zivie made these conclusions based on the sculptures of Tutankhamun and Maia on the wall in Maia's tomb.

He said: "The strange thing is that they are very similar, from the chin, the eyes, to the family characteristics. Sculptures depicting Maia sitting on the throne and Tutankhamun are sitting on her lap."

Similar sculptures were found in Akhenaten's tomb at the Tel el-Amarna archaeological site, in present-day Minya province, where the Pharaoh once built the capital.

Archaeologists believe that Maia's tomb may reveal new information about the young King Tutankhamun.