The tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh has been found for the first time since Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922.
In what has been dubbed a “remarkable discovery”, the tomb of Thutmose II, the last missing royal tomb of the 18th dynasty, was found in the Western Valleys of the Theban Necropolis in Egypt.
The tomb was uncovered by a joint British-Egyptian mission, about 1.5 miles west of the Valley of the Kings in Luxor’s western mountain region.
Objects recovered from the mission included fragments of alabaster jars (used to store perfumes, oils, and ointments) inscribed with the name Pharaoh Thutmose II, as well as inscriptions bearing the name of his wife Queen Hatshepsut – who became one of Egypt’s few female pharaohs who ruled in her own right.
For the first time ever, funeral furniture belonging to the pharaoh was found, according to Egypt‘s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. No funeral furniture of Thutmose II currently exists in any museum worldwide.
The mission was formed by the New Kingdom Research Foundation (NKRF), a British independent academic foundation, and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, a project affiliated to the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge.
“This discovery solves a great mystery of Ancient Egypt: the location of the tombs of the early 18th dynasty kings,” said mission leader and field director Piers Litherland.
“The tomb of this ancestor of Tutankhamun had never been found because it was always thought to be at the other end of the mountain near the Valley of the Kings.
“Initially we thought we might have found the tomb of a royal wife, but the wide staircase and the large doorway suggested something more important.
“The discovery that the burial chamber had been decorated with scenes from the Amduat, a religious text which is reserved for kings, was immensely exciting and was the first indication that this was a king’s tomb.”
Thutmose II died 3,500 years ago. He is believed to have ruled for around 14 years, from about 1493 to 1479 BCE, and fathered one child, Thutmose III.
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Mohamed Abdel Badi, head of the Egyptian antiquities sector and co-leader of the mission, said the tomb was discovered in a poor state due to flooding that occurred shortly after the pharaoh’s death.
Archaeological evidence suggests the contents were moved to a second tomb due to the flood.
Mohsen Kamel, assistant field director, said: “The possible existence of a second, and most likely intact, tomb of Thutmose II is an astonishing possibility.”
