Egyptologists have uncovered the first pharaoh’s tomb since Tutankhamun’s discovery more than a century ago. The tomb of King Thutmose II is the last royal tomb of Egypt’s 18th dynasty to be discovered.
The discovery was made by a joint mission between the New Kingdom Research Foundation, a British independent academic organization, and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The project was also affiliated with the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge.
Thutmose II was the fourth Pharaoh of Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty, and his reign is thought to have lasted 13 years, from around 1493 to 1479 BCE, or possibly just 3 years, from around 1482 to 1479 BCE.
According to Jewish tradition, the Israelites settled in Egypt in 1,655 BCE, and the Exodus took place in 1445 BCE.
Jewish chronologists believe the Pharaoh who enslaved the Israelites was Thutmose III, who ruled from around 1479 BCE to around 1445 BCE.
Of course, the above dates are estimates and in reality may not have dovetailed quite so conveniently with each other.
Much of Thutmose II’s life remains shrouded in mystery, as he is overshadowed by the more prominent figures of his father, Thutmose I; his half-sister and wife, Hatshepsut; and his son, Thutmose III. Few monuments are dedicated to him.
Thutmose II died before the age of 30. A body believed to be his was discovered in the Deir el-Bahri Cache, located above the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. His poorly preserved tomb, located in the Western Wadis near the Valley of the Queens, was discovered in 2022 and confirmed as belonging to him this year. The tomb was built beneath a waterfall, which caused periodic flash flooding that damaged it over time. It took months to clear flood debris from the plunging corridor. His mummified remains were relocated in antiquity to the Deir el-Bahri cache, where they were later found in the 19th century.
A British-Egyptian team found it in the Western Valleys of the Theban Necropolis, near Luxor. Researchers had previously believed the burial sites of 18th dynasty pharaohs were located over 2 kilometers away, closer to the Valley of the Kings.
Surprisingly, the tomb was discovered in an area typically associated with the burial places of royal women. Upon entering the burial chamber, however, the archaeologists found it decorated, marking it as the final resting place of a pharaoh.
When British archaeologist Dr. Piers Litherland saw the ceiling of the burial chamber painted blue with yellow stars, he realized he had just uncovered the first tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh in more than a century.
Litherland had spent over a decade exploring the Valley of the Kings when he stumbled upon a staircase that led to the tomb, which is now confirmed to have belonged to Thutmose II.
Dr. Litherland told the BBC’s Newshour: “The emotion of getting into these things is just one of extraordinary bewilderment because when you come across something you’re not expecting to find, it’s emotionally extremely turbulent really.”
“And when I came out, my wife was waiting outside and the only thing I could do was burst into tears,” he recalled.
