Egyptian officials announced on Tuesday the discovery of King Thutmose II's tomb in Luxor, a find described as "one of the most important archaeological discoveries in recent years." This marks the first royal tomb discovery in Egypt since Tutankhamun's burial site was uncovered over 100 years ago.
The tomb, designated as Tomb No. C4, was found in the C Valley area of the Theban Hills, approximately 2.4 kilometers west of the Valley of the Kings. A joint archaeological mission comprising British and Egyptian teams spent two years excavating the site. The entrance and main corridor of the tomb were initially discovered in 2022 near the tombs of King Thutmose III's wives and Queen Hatshepsut's burial site.
Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, stated that fragments of vessels discovered in the tomb bear inscriptions identifying Thutmose II as the deceased king, alongside the name of his wife, Hatshepsut. These findings helped confirm the tomb's ownership.
The tomb was found in poor condition due to being exposed to flooding shortly after the king's death, which submerged it and caused the plaster to be partially broken, necessitating restoration work. Preliminary studies suggest that many of the original contents of the tomb may have been relocated during ancient Egyptian times due to flooding, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
“The discovery of King Thutmose II's tomb is significant because it is the first time funerary furniture belonging to him has been found, as there were previously no funerary possessions of his preserved in museums around the world,” said Dr. Khaled, according to Youm7. The artifacts discovered are an important addition to the history of the archaeological area and the reign of King Thutmose II.
Hatshepsut, both the wife and half-sister of Thutmose II, organized the proceedings of his burial and is often considered the real power behind the throne during his reign. Archaeologists discovered plaster fragments in Tomb No. C4 adorned with blue paint and yellow starry sky motifs, including passages from the Book of Amduat, one of the most important religious texts associated with the tombs of kings in ancient Egypt, as reported by Al-Masry Al-Youm.
The tomb features a simple architectural design characterized by an entrance, a sloping main corridor, and a burial chamber. The corridor is covered with a layer of white plaster and rises about 1.4 meters above the burial chamber floor. The only anomaly in the tomb's design is a second corridor, which seems to have been created to enable removing King Thutmose II's body from his flooded tomb.
King Thutmose II's mummified remains were discovered in the 19th century at the Deir el-Bahari Cachette, where they were rewrapped and restored after being violated by tomb robbers. However, his original tomb had never been found until now.
Dr. Piers Litherland announced that the mission would continue to investigate the tomb to discover more of the site's secrets and will look for additional contents from the tomb that may have been moved, which may help to unlock secrets that have been underground for centuries, according to arkeonews.net.
The tomb of King Thutmose II marks the last missing tomb of the kings of ancient Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty, which ruled from approximately 1550 BCE to 1292 BCE.
Despite the short duration of his reign, historical sources indicate that “King Thutmose II succeeded in suppressing many revolts in Nubia, and he eliminated a tribe called the Shasu in Sinai,” according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
Dr. Khaled emphasized the importance of the discovery, describing it as “one of the most significant archaeological finds in recent years.”
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.