LUXOR, Egypt (Agencies): Egyptologists have discovered the first tomb of a pharaoh since the famed tomb of Tutankhamun was uncovered over a century ago. The tomb, belonging to King Thutmose II, was the last undiscovered royal tomb of the 18th Egyptian dynasty until now.
A British-Egyptian team located the tomb in the Western Valleys of the Theban Necropolis near Luxor. Researchers had previously believed that the burial chambers of the 18th dynasty pharaohs were situated on the other end of the mountain, near the Valley of the Kings.
The discovery was made in an area known for the resting places of royal women. Upon entering the burial chamber, the team found it decorated—a clear sign of a pharaoh’s tomb. “Part of the ceiling was still intact—a blue-painted ceiling with yellow stars on it. Blue-painted ceilings with yellow stars are only found in king’s tombs,” said Dr. Piers Litherland, the field director of the mission.
Dr. Litherland described his overwhelming emotions upon the discovery. “When I came out, my wife was waiting outside, and the only thing I could do was burst into tears,” he told the BBC’s Newshour programme. “When you come across something that you’re not expecting to find, it’s emotionally extremely turbulent.”
This discovery solves the mystery of the location of early 18th dynasty kings’ tombs. Although Thutmose II’s mummified remains were found two centuries ago, the original burial site had remained elusive.
Thutmose II, an ancestor of Tutankhamun, reigned from around 1493 to 1479 BCE. Tutankhamun’s tomb, discovered by British archaeologists in 1922, is one of the most significant finds in Egyptology. Thutmose II is best known for being the husband of Queen Hatshepsut, one of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs and one of the few female rulers in her own right.
The tomb, featuring a large staircase and a vast descending corridor, suggested grandeur. The team had to crawl through a 10-meter passageway with a roughly 40-square-centimeter opening to reach the chamber. Inside, they discovered the blue ceiling and scenes from the Amduat, a religious text reserved for kings.
Artefacts, including fragments of alabaster jars bearing the names of Thutmose II and Hatshepsut, provided definitive evidence of the tomb’s owner. These are the first objects associated with Thutmose II’s burial.
Dr. Litherland’s team theorized that the tomb was flooded about six years after the burial, leading to the possible relocation of its contents during ancient times. The team believes they have a rough idea of where the second tomb might be and that it could still contain treasures.
The discovery caps off over 12 years of work by the joint team from Dr. Litherland’s New Kingdom Research Foundation and Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The team had previously excavated 54 tombs in the western part of the Theban mountain in Luxor and identified over 30 royal wives and court women.
“This is the first royal tomb to be discovered since the ground-breaking find of King Tutankhamun’s burial chamber in 1922,” said Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathy. “It is an extraordinary moment for Egyptology and the broader understanding of our shared human story.”