Over 100 years ago, in 1922, a British-led research team made a startling discovery.

In an Egyptian tomb, they discovered the burial chamber and remains of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, and set the world’s imagination ablaze, with the level of fascination with ancient Egyptians never really settling since then.

So it was an exciting moment when a new British-Egyptian research team made a new discovery recently, over one hundred years later.

Near the Egyptian city of Luxor, deep in the Western Valleys of the Theban Necropolis, the researchers discovered a new tomb.

And inside, the long-lost burial chamber of King Thutmose II (whose body was located over 200 years ago, after having been mysteriously moved from its original place of internment).

According to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, this first royal tomb to be discovered since Tutankhamun came after the entrance to Tomb C4 was uncovered in 2022 (100 years on from Tutankhamun’s sensational discovery).

But the archaeologists’ predictions were incorrect.

Due to the location and appearance of the tomb, Dr Mohamed Ismail Khaled – Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities – explained in the statement, that the tomb defied initial assumptions:

“The team believed it might be the tomb of the wife of one of the Thutmose kings, given its proximity to the tomb of King Thutmose III’s wives, as well as to the tomb of Queen Hatshepsut, which was prepared for her as a royal wife before she ascended the throne as king and was buried in the Valley of the Kings.”

However, this was quickly proven not to be the case.

What the researchers uncovered was the resting chamber of King Thutmose II, with inscriptions on artefacts found in the tomb proving that their unprecedented discovery was the answer to significant historical questions, as the Secretary-General continued:

“This discovery is one of the most important archaeological discoveries in recent years. The artefacts discovered there represent a significant addition to the history of the archaeological area and the reign of King Thutmose II.”

And the findings are significant for several reasons. Unveiling the King’s burial chambers also gives archeologists an insight into the items that were interred alongside him, with his funerary furniture notable too.

Inscribed with blue and yellow stars, as well as passages from ancient Egyptian religious texts, Egyptologists now have a much greater understanding of King Thutmose II’s life, rule, and burial.

With the high significance of this discovery, one might wonder why it took archaeologists – who work year-round on the ground in Egypt, as well as across the world – so long to discover the location of the last King of the 18th Egyptian dynasty.

However, as Professor Mohamed Abdel Badie, Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained in the statement, there were several factors that threw researchers off the scent:

“The tomb was found in a poor state of preservation due to its exposure to floods shortly after the king’s death. The tomb was submerged, requiring the archaeological team to recover the fallen pieces of mortar and restore it.

Preliminary studies indicate that the tomb’s main contents were moved to another location after being exposed to floods during ancient Egyptian times.”

After the flood then, it seems that diligent ancient Egyptians moved their deceased ruler’s remains in order to preserve him and protect his afterlife.

Architecturally, the tomb tells this story, as Dr. Piers Litherland, head of the British archaeological mission, continued in the statement:

“The tomb includes a corridor with a white plaster floor, leading to the burial chamber in the tomb’s main corridor, whose floor is approximately 1.4 meters higher than the floor of the chamber itself. It is believed that it was used to transport the main contents of the tomb, including the body of Thutmose II, after it was submerged by floodwaters.”

With King Thutmose II’s tomb continuing to give researchers new information not only about how ancient Egyptians buried their revered rulers, but how they cared for them long after, too, the British-Egyptian team continue their exploration of the location.

The world can only hope that it’s not another century before new information is revealed!

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