Archaeologists are showing off artifacts from what they say is the first royal tomb to be found in Egypt since the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s resting place in 1922.
But this tomb, located west of the Valley of the Kings, contains no solid-gold mummy case or glittering treasures. In fact, it took some effort to determine that it was made nearly 3,500 years ago for King Thutmose II, an ancestor of King Tut.
Thutmose II’s mummified remains were found in a different tomb back the late 1800s, and are currently on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo. Archaeologists assumed that his original resting place was disturbed by grave robbers in ancient times, and that his mummy had to be moved as a result.
After years of searching, an Egyptian-British team came upon the lost tomb in 2022, in an area that was associated with the resting places of royal women. At first, the team’s leaders assumed that the tomb belonged to one of the wives of King Thutmose III, the son of Thutmose II. But they soon found evidence suggesting that a pharaoh was once buried within.
“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, founder of the New Kingdom Research Foundation and the mission’s British director, told the BBC.
Litherland said the discovery had a powerful emotional effect on him. “When I came out, my wife was waiting outside, and the only thing I could do was burst into tears,” he said.
Photos show traces of stars painted on the ceiling of the burial chamber at left and fragments of the starry ceiling at right. (Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
Archaeologists had to sift through piles of debris in the tomb. (Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
The tomb was in poor condition, apparently due to flooding in ancient times. After sifting through the debris, the excavators came upon fragments of alabaster jars that were inscribed with the names of Thutmose II and his principal wife, Hatshepsut, who became a pharaoh in her own right after her husband’s death.
Those inscriptions — along with other evidence, including wall inscriptions citing the Book of Amduat, a religious text associated with royal burials — confirmed Thutmose II’s connection to the tomb.
Archaeologists now believe Thutmose II’s mummy was moved not because the tomb was robbed, but because the tomb was flooded.
“Water damage caused severe deterioration, leading to the loss of many original contents, which are believed to have been relocated during ancient times,” Mohamed Abdel-Badie, who is the mission’s Egyptian director and heads up the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Ahram Online.
Litherland said the tomb’s architectural plan is largely consistent with the design that was used for the tombs built for his successors in Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, including Tutankhamun. But there’s an extra corridor that was built above the floor of the burial chamber. That passageway may have facilitated the removal of Thutmose II’s mummy and other contents when the chamber flooded.
So, what happened to the missing contents? Is there yet another tomb to be found? Members of the Egyptian-British team intend to continue their work at the site — and Litherland told the BBC that the team already has a rough idea where to look for a second tomb.
