A century after Tounkhamon, archaeologists discover the lost tomb of King Thoutmôsis II in Egypt

On November 4, 1922, the British archaeologist Howard Carter made the revolutionary discovery of the tomb of Tounkhamon, one of the most famous pharaohs in the world. A century later, on February 18, 2025, a team of Egyptian-British archaeologists, led by the Supreme Council of Egyptian Antiquities and the New Kingdom Research Foundation, has just uncovered the tomb of King Thoutmôsis II, as indicated in a Communiqué from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Update in October 2022 about 2.4 kilometers from the Valley of the Kings, on the western bank of the Nile and in the mountainous region of Luxor, it is then the last missing royal tomb of the XVIII^e Dynasty of the new Egyptian Empire. The team of researchers first thought that it was the burial of one of the royal wives of the Thoutmôsis kings. The discovery is, in fact, located not far from the tombs of the wives of Thoutmôsis III, but also that of Queen Hatchepsout, says Mohamed Ismaïl Khaled, Secretary General of the Supreme Antiquities Council.

Daughter of the pharaoh thoutmôsis 1^isthe latter was both the half-sister and the wife of Thoutmôsis II. This is why the reign of the fourth king of the XVIII^e dynasty was relatively course, between 1492 and 1479 BC. AD approximately. “Hatchepsout was the first woman whose story kept the name”said the American Egyptologist James Henry Breasted in his work Ancient Records of Egypt, in 1906. In the shadows, he could not do as much as his father Thoutmôsis 1^isgreat conqueror and builder of the Empire, and was overwhelmed by the success of his son Thoutmôsis III, who extended the territories of the new Egyptian empire as never before.

“A first”

According to archaeological studies, the King’s burial was supervised by Queen Hatchepsout. His tomb was full of royal treasures at the time of his discovery. The researchers were thus able to get their hands on fragments of alabaster jars bearing the name of the Pharaoh Thoutmôsis II. These are inscriptions bearing the name of her main royal wife, Queen Hatchepsout, who came to confirm the identity of the owner of the tomb. Funeral furniture that belonged to the king was also found on the spot. It is “A first”rejoices Dr. Khaled, because no funeral furniture of Thoutmôsis II has been preserved to date in museums around the world.

 

« [La tombe] is in poor condition of conservation due to a flood which occurred shortly after the death of the king ”

Mohamed Abdel Badi, head of the Egyptian antiquity sector and co-responsible for the mission

However, the chief of the Egyptian antiquity sector and co-responsible for the mission, Mohamed Abdel Badi, reveals that the tomb was “In poor state of conservation due to a flood that occurred shortly after the King’s death”. At the time, around 1479 BC, the water penetrated the tomb and damaged the interior. The archaeological teams then carried out major restoration work to recover the fragments of plaster fallen to the ground. These relics carry blue inscriptions, patterns of yellow stars and parts of the book of Amdouat, “A religious text associated with the royal tombs of ancient Egypt”said the press release.

A tomb that serves as inspiration

On the British side, Piers Latherland notes that the architecture of the tomb, simple in appearance, would have served as inspiration for the subsequent royal tombs of the XVIII^e dynasty. Its particularity? It has a plastered corridor leading to the funeral chamber. The corridor floor is raised about 1.4 meters from the floor of the funeral chamber. Researchers think that this raised corridor was used to move the contents of the tomb, including the Thoutmôsis II mummy, after flooding.

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The Egyptian Minister for Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathi, has stressed “The importance of this discovery to reveal other secrets and treasures of the ancient Egyptian civilization in the region”. Note that the mission, carried out for two years, will continue its work with the objective of discovering other secrets of the region, but also that of locating the last rest of the original content of the tomb.