Egypt, alongside Britain, in a joint Egyptian-British mission, has discovered a pharaonic royal tomb for the first time in a century, belonging to King Thutmose II.
- Egypt and Britain discovered a pharaonic royal tomb together, the first in a century.
- The tomb belongs to King Thutmose II and is located west of the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.
- Archaeologists found alabaster vessels with the names of King Thutmose II and Queen Hatshepsut, indicating the tomb’s identity.
On Tuesday, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of King Thutmose II’s ancient tomb which is located about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) west of the Valley of Kings in Luxor.
The ministry revealed that Thutmose II’s tomb is the last tomb of Egypt’s 18th dynasty monarchs and the first royal tomb unearthed since King Tutankhamun’s in 1922.
Archaeologists were able to identify the tomb because of alabaster vessels found on site that bore the names of King Thutmose II and his wife Queen Hatshepsut, one of the few women to have ruled Egypt
Other discoveries include pieces of his funerary furniture and pieces of mortar bearing blue inscriptions, yellow stars, and religious writing.
A statement released by the ministry disclosed that the tomb had not been preserved properly, largely as a result of flooding shortly after the king’s death; there were indications that most of its contents had been moved, and work was underway to recover them.
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Following the initial discovery of the site back in 2022, the archeological crew uncovered the entrance and immediately assumed it belonged to one of the rulers’ wives.
Mohammad Ismail Khaled, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained via a statement that this was due to its proximity to Queen Hatshepsut’s tomb as well as the tombs of King Thutmose III’s wives.
However, over time, the joint effort directed by the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the New Kingdom Research Foundation unearthed a different story: Thutmose II truly owned the tomb.
As reported by CNN, the New Kingdom Research Foundation’s field director, Piers Litherland, stated that the finding caught his team off guard.
“We, like many others, thought this was a wadi (valley) associated with royal women,” Litherland told CNN Wednesday..
“The tomb is situated in a poorly chosen place beneath two waterfalls and at the bottom of a slope down which water would have (and did) pour in the much wetter weather of the 18th dynasty,” he added.
There isn’t much known about Thutmose II. as even experts debate the duration of his administration, which could range from as little as 3 to as high as 14 years.
