The mummy of Hatshepsut, one of Ancient Egypt's most famous female pharaohs, has been positively identified - the most dramatic such find since the tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1922, it was revealed today.
A team led by archaeologist Dr Zahi Hawass carried out many tests and the clinching evidence was that a tooth in a box inscribed with the pharaoh's name was a perfect match for a missing upper molar in the mummy.
Identitiy of female mummy confirm as Hatshepsut - one of Egypt's most famous female pharaohs. Image: AP.
Dr Hawass said today: "The discovery of the Hatshepsut mummy is one of the most important finds in the history of Egypt.
"Her reign during the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt was a prosperous one, yet mysteriously she was erased from Egyptian history. "Our hope is that this mummy will help shed light on this mystery and on the mysterious nature of her death."
Hatshepsut lived in the 15th century BC. She commandeered the throne from her young stepson, Thutmose III, dressed herself as a man and, in an unprecedented move, declared herself pharaoh.
Though her power stretched across Egypt and her reign was prosperous, her legacy was systematically erased from Egyptian history - historical records were destroyed, monuments torn down and her corpse removed from her tomb - and her death is shrouded in mystery.
Dr Hawass and his team went into the massive crypts beneath Egypt and the depths of the Cairo Museum.
Using knowledge of royal Egyptian mummification and clues from two known tombs linked to Hatshepsut, the team narrowed their search to just four mummies from thousands of unidentified corpses.
Sophisticated scanning allowed the scientists to link distinct physical traits of the four mummies to those of Hatshepsut's known relatives.
The search further narrowed to two possibilities - both from the tomb of Hatshepsut's wet nurse - but the final clue lay within the box bearing the female pharaoh's name.
The exact dimensions of teeth are unique to each mouth. The molar tooth in the box fits within a fraction of a millimetre with the space of the missing molar in the mouth of the mummy called KV60A.