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CNN Live Today

Interview With Joann Fletcher

Aired August 14, 2003 - 10:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: For thousands of years these bones were considered insignificant. But some new research suggests that they maybe the remains of the most powerful female ruler in ancient Egypt, Nefertiti. She ruled the empire with her husband starting in 1352 B.C. And Eygptologist Joann Fletcher led a Discovery Channel expedition and believes that the bones belong to the ancient queen. Details of that excursion will be laid out in a two-hour program that premiers this Sunday on "Discovery Quest."
Dr. Fletcher joins us here now to talk more about this remarkable discovery -- excuse me -- and its potential. Dr. Fletcher, thank you very much. I know we only have a couple of minutes to talk this morning. But what is it that convinces you first of all that this is Nefertiti?

JOANN FLETCHER, EGYPTOLOGIST: Well a whole host of clues. It isn't one single thing. It's basically a combination of the age of the body, the sex, the condition it was found in, the place it was found in, obviously the Valley of Kings. The fact that it was buried with another two royal mummies.

And various other clues we found on the body when we were examining it as well as other details, small details, such as a wig which was actually found with the mummy and is now in Cairo museum. A style originally worn by Nefertiti and royal women of this particular period.

So we're looking at a kind of jigsaw of many different pieces of the puzzle which we've been able to bring together.

HARRIS: So it's not just a simple matter of just one little item matching up here?

FLETCHER: Oh no. Had it been that simple, other people would have gotten there long before me, I'm quite sure.

HARRIS: Well you got there and you've been -- I mean you've been working on this for some 12 years as I read it. How was -- tell me, does it -- does she matchup with what you thought she would look like? Because now that experts have come together and put exactly -- put a model together of what she actually would look like, or at least what they believe she would look like.

FLETCHER: Well that's the amazing thing. Because everybody knows Nefertiti from the beautiful image that we see in the bust that's currently in Berlin Museum. It's a stunningly beautiful piece. And it would be a question of does life imitate art? Did the body actually, in any way, matchup this to this bust? And it certainly does.

It's quite a superb image, the facial reconstruction. And that's going to be available for people to see on this Sunday's show of the actual program. It's quite spectacular.

HARRIS: But what is it what you would have expected? If you had been looking for her for 12 years you had to have some idea in your mind.

FLETCHER: Well that's the thing. I was very apprehensive because I didn't know what they were going to be able to produce because the people, the forensic experts who produced this facial reconstruction weren't given any information. They didn't know whether it was ancient, modern, male, female. They didn't know anything about it.

And so I was quite apprehensive as to what image I would eventually see, but when you compare the actual facial reconstruction with the bust in Berlin, the similarities are quite spectacular. It certainly took my breath away.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Doctor, we only have a couple of seconds here. Finally I must ask you this. Is there anything else that's of importance here that you've learned about identifying the fact that this is her? Is there anything else you learned about her rule or about her death?

FLETCHER: Yes, I mean there are a number of suspicious injuries on the body that we're currently examining, the x-rays to try and find out potentially could this have been a murder, which is an intriguing possibility in itself.

HARRIS: And very interesting. Dr. Joann Fletcher, fascinating work. I can't wait to see that piece when you all put it together, put it on the air this weekend on "Discovery Quest." Congratulations, fascinating work and great job. We'll watch.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired August 14, 2003 - 10:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: For thousands of years these bones were considered insignificant. But some new research suggests that they maybe the remains of the most powerful female ruler in ancient Egypt, Nefertiti. She ruled the empire with her husband starting in 1352 B.C. And Eygptologist Joann Fletcher led a Discovery Channel expedition and believes that the bones belong to the ancient queen. Details of that excursion will be laid out in a two-hour program that premiers this Sunday on "Discovery Quest."
Dr. Fletcher joins us here now to talk more about this remarkable discovery -- excuse me -- and its potential. Dr. Fletcher, thank you very much. I know we only have a couple of minutes to talk this morning. But what is it that convinces you first of all that this is Nefertiti?

JOANN FLETCHER, EGYPTOLOGIST: Well a whole host of clues. It isn't one single thing. It's basically a combination of the age of the body, the sex, the condition it was found in, the place it was found in, obviously the Valley of Kings. The fact that it was buried with another two royal mummies.

And various other clues we found on the body when we were examining it as well as other details, small details, such as a wig which was actually found with the mummy and is now in Cairo museum. A style originally worn by Nefertiti and royal women of this particular period.

So we're looking at a kind of jigsaw of many different pieces of the puzzle which we've been able to bring together.

HARRIS: So it's not just a simple matter of just one little item matching up here?

FLETCHER: Oh no. Had it been that simple, other people would have gotten there long before me, I'm quite sure.

HARRIS: Well you got there and you've been -- I mean you've been working on this for some 12 years as I read it. How was -- tell me, does it -- does she matchup with what you thought she would look like? Because now that experts have come together and put exactly -- put a model together of what she actually would look like, or at least what they believe she would look like.

FLETCHER: Well that's the amazing thing. Because everybody knows Nefertiti from the beautiful image that we see in the bust that's currently in Berlin Museum. It's a stunningly beautiful piece. And it would be a question of does life imitate art? Did the body actually, in any way, matchup this to this bust? And it certainly does.

It's quite a superb image, the facial reconstruction. And that's going to be available for people to see on this Sunday's show of the actual program. It's quite spectacular.

HARRIS: But what is it what you would have expected? If you had been looking for her for 12 years you had to have some idea in your mind.

FLETCHER: Well that's the thing. I was very apprehensive because I didn't know what they were going to be able to produce because the people, the forensic experts who produced this facial reconstruction weren't given any information. They didn't know whether it was ancient, modern, male, female. They didn't know anything about it.

And so I was quite apprehensive as to what image I would eventually see, but when you compare the actual facial reconstruction with the bust in Berlin, the similarities are quite spectacular. It certainly took my breath away.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Doctor, we only have a couple of seconds here. Finally I must ask you this. Is there anything else that's of importance here that you've learned about identifying the fact that this is her? Is there anything else you learned about her rule or about her death?

FLETCHER: Yes, I mean there are a number of suspicious injuries on the body that we're currently examining, the x-rays to try and find out potentially could this have been a murder, which is an intriguing possibility in itself.

HARRIS: And very interesting. Dr. Joann Fletcher, fascinating work. I can't wait to see that piece when you all put it together, put it on the air this weekend on "Discovery Quest." Congratulations, fascinating work and great job. We'll watch.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com