The wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten and perhaps a ruler in her own right after his death, Nefertiti was little more than a historical whisper when, in 1912, an exquisite limestone sculpture of her now-famous face was unearthed at the royal retreat of Amarna. It was more than 3,200 years old, dating from 1345 B.C.Her name, meaning "the beautiful (or perfect) woman has come," prompts some scholars to think that Nefertiti traveled to Egypt from a foreign land. Others theorize she was an Egyptian royal by birth. Still others think it unlikely that she was of royal blood, but that her father was a high government official, a man named Ay, who went on to become pharaoh after Tutankhamen (and, incidentally, may have had a hand in the boy king's death!).
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