Pottery shards from the royal tomb that helped with the identification process.
In 1922, British archaeologists uncovered the royal tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun near Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Since then, no such ancient tombs have been found around that area—until now.
On February 18, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced that a joint Egyptian-British archaeological team unearthed the tomb of King Thutmose II, who ruled ancient Egypt during the 15th century BCE. The discovery marks the first of its kind in over a century, offering indispensable insight into the 18th Egyptian dynasty.
Though the tomb was originally discovered near the city of Luxor in October 2022, the archaeological team was unable to identify to whom it belonged until the 2024-25 excavation season. A recent analysis of alabaster jar fragments, however, revealed inscriptions bearing Thutmose II’s name, while interior decorations provided further evidence of the tomb’s royal associations.
“Part of the ceiling was still intact: a blue-painted ceiling with yellow stars on it. And blue-painted ceilings with yellow stars are only found in kings’ tombs,” Piers Litherland, the mission’s field director, told the BBC.
The tomb itself is mostly empty, archaeologists suspect, as a result of flooding soon after Thutmose II was interred. In response, the body and grave goods were most likely moved elsewhere.
“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,” Litherland explained to CNN.
The tomb’s unusual location is an ongoing source of inquiry for the archaeological team. At first, the team believed the tomb could’ve been dedicated to a king’s wife, given its proximity to the tombs of King Thutmose III’s wives and to that of Queen Hatshepsut.
“We, like many others, thought this was a wadi [valley] associated with royal women,” Litherland continued.
It’s precisely for this reason that the discovery is so significant. Given that not much is known about Thutmose II (scholars even debate how long he remained in power), his tomb’s location poses critical questions surrounding the specifics of his burial.
“It does not, so far, tell us much about his life,” Litherland remarked about the tomb’s discovery. “However, it does tell us that he was buried by Hatshepsut and not by his son, the infant Thutmose III. It was the duty of Kings to bury their predecessors.”
The team behind the discovery hopes to track down the tomb’s original contents in addition to analyzing what remains on-site.
A joint Egyptian-British archeological team discovered the tomb of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh in over a century.
The tomb is believed to have belonged to Thutmose II, and was found near the city of Luxor.
Stone block with a relief of Thutmose II at Karnak Temple. (Photo: Wmpearl, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
All images via Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities press release.
Sources: Last undiscovered tomb of Tutankhamun dynasty found; Archaeologists Say They’ve Discovered the First Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh’s Tomb Since Tutankhamun’s in 1922; Tomb of ancient Egyptian king unearthed in ‘remarkable’ discovery; Egypt announces first discovery of a royal tomb since King Tutankhamun’s was found over a century ago
Related Articles:
4,100-Year-Old Tomb of Ancient Egyptian Royal Physician Unearthed in Saqqara
Ancient Egyptians Drank Hallucinogens Cocktails From a Head-Shaped Vessel During Fertility Rituals
Researchers Find Ornate Relics in the Burial Chamber of an Ancient Egyptian Priestess