Egyptologists have uncovered the first royal tomb since the legendary discovery of King Tutankhamun’s burial chamber over a century ago. The tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II, a long-lost relic of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, has been located in the Western Valleys of the Theban Necropolis, near Luxor, by a British-Egyptian research team.
For years, scholars assumed the burial sites of early 18th Dynasty rulers were further away, closer to the Valley of the Kings. However, the discovery in an area previously linked to royal women’s tombs came as an unexpected breakthrough. The moment the team entered the burial chamber, it became clear they had found the final resting place of a pharaoh.
Dr. Piers Litherland, field director of the mission, described the emotional weight of the moment. Among the tomb’s remnants, they found an intact section of the ceiling painted blue with yellow stars—an unmistakable mark of a royal burial. “Blue-painted ceilings with yellow stars are only found in kings’ tombs,” he explained.
The tomb’s architecture also hinted at its grandeur. “A large staircase and a very large descending corridor suggested it was a significant structure,” Litherland said. However, centuries of natural disasters had taken their toll. The team had to navigate collapsed ceilings, flood debris, and a narrow 40cm passageway before reaching the burial chamber.
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Despite the grandeur, the tomb itself was empty. It hadn’t been looted; instead, it appeared to have been deliberately cleared out. Litherland and his team deduced that the burial site had been built beneath a waterfall, which led to flooding a few years after the pharaoh’s internment. The ancient Egyptians likely relocated the burial goods to another location.
But the tomb wasn’t entirely devoid of clues. Among the debris, researchers found shattered alabaster jars inscribed with the names of Thutmose II and his wife, Queen Hatshepsut. “Had they not broken during the relocation, we might never have identified whose tomb this was,” Litherland noted.
Thutmose II, who ruled around 1493–1479 BC, was an ancestor of Tutankhamun and the husband of Queen Hatshepsut—one of Egypt’s most famous female pharaohs. While his mummified remains were found centuries ago, the exact location of his original tomb had remained a mystery—until now.
Litherland’s team believes a second tomb, potentially intact, may still exist nearby. The discovery comes after over a decade of work by the New Kingdom Research Foundation in collaboration with Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathy, hailed the find as “an extraordinary moment for Egyptology and the broader understanding of our shared human story.”
With this latest revelation, historians are now closer than ever to piecing together the mysteries of Egypt’s early 18th Dynasty—offering a new chapter in the story of the pharaohs.
