A royal tomb belonging to an ancient Egyptian king has been unearthed, in what has been called a “remarkable” discovery by officials. A joint Egyptian-British archaeological mission identified the tomb as belonging to King Thutmose II, an ancient Egyptian king who reigned sometime between 2000 and 1001 BC, the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a press release Tuesday. Initially identified as just “Tomb C4,” the site is located about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) west of the Valley of Kings in Egypt’s Luxor region, the ministry said. When the archaeological team first discovered the entrance and main corridor of the tomb in 2022, they believed it belonged to one of the wives of the kings. This was based on its proximity to Queen Hatshepsut’s tomb and the tombs of King Thutmose III’s wives, explained Mohammad Ismail Khaled, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, in the release.
A long-lost chapter of ancient Egyptian history has been rewritten with the discovery of the tomb of King Thutmose II, the enigmatic pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Announced by Egyptian authorities on Tuesday, the find marks the first royal Egyptian tomb discovery since King Tutankhamun’s legendary burial site was unearthed in 1922. The joint Egyptian-British archaeological mission located the tomb in the mount of Thebes area, west of Luxor, near the famed Valley of the Kings. Initially cataloged as Tomb No. C4, the structure was believed to belong to a royal wife—until recent discoveries irrevocably linked it to King Thutmose II himself. A Long-Hidden Tomb Reveals Its Secrets The journey to this monumental discovery began in 2022, when archaeologists uncovered the tomb’s entrance and main passage. At the time, experts assumed it belonged to one of the royal wives, given its proximity to the tombs of King Thutmose III’s wives and the tomb of Queen Hatshepsut, who was originally interred as a royal consort before ascending the throne.
A TOMB of an Egyptian pharaoh has been uncovered for the first time since Tutan-khamun’s more than 100 years ago — thanks to a Scot. Archaeologist Piers Litherland has been hailed for his “extraordinary” discovery of the original resting place of King Thutmose II, who died 3,500 years ago. The Egyptian ruler was an ancestor of Tutankhamun, whose tomb was famously discovered by another Brit in 1922. Experts spent decades looking in the wrong place for Thutmose II’s burial chamber — believing it was near the sacred Valley of the Kings. When Prof Litherland and his team discovered a tomb — in poor condition — on the other side of the Theban Mountain three years ago they suspected it belonged to a royal wife.
