In a groundbreaking discovery, British archaeologist Dr. Piers Litherland has unearthed the long-lost tomb of Thutmose II in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. The find marks the first pharaoh's tomb discovery in over a century. The joint mission, involving the New Kingdom Research Foundation and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, stumbled upon the tomb after a decade-long exploration led by Litherland. Initially believed to belong to a royal wife, the tomb's true ownership emerged through alabaster fragments bearing the name of Thutmose II.
The tomb, concealed beneath a waterfall, remained hidden for centuries. The location was unknown until this remarkable discovery, which solves a profound mystery about the early 18th dynasty kings' burial sites. Dr. Litherland and his team meticulously cleared flood debris from the tomb's descending corridor over several months. The unexpected revelation of Thutmose II's name among tons of broken limestone confirmed the tomb's significance.
"When I came out, my wife was waiting outside and the only thing I could do was burst into tears." – Dr. Piers Litherland
This emotional moment underscored the importance of their find. Despite being initially empty, the tomb had not been robbed but deliberately evacuated and its contents relocated to a second tomb.
"In fact, the tomb turned out to be completely empty, not because it had been robbed, but because it had been deliberately emptied." – Dr. Piers Litherland
The tomb's proximity to water posed unique preservation challenges.
"It had been built underneath a waterfall, and it had filled with water at some stage within about six years of the burial." – Dr. Piers Litherland
This condition added to the complexity of the excavation process.
Thutmose II, husband and half-brother to Hatshepsut and father of Thutmose III, played a pivotal role in Egypt's history. His tomb, adorned with scenes from the Amduat, a religious text typically reserved for kings, accentuates his royal stature.
"The possible existence of a second, and most likely intact, tomb of Thutmose II is an astonishing possibility." – Mohsen Kamel
The discovery is hailed as the most significant since Tutankhamun's tomb was unearthed. The relocation of its contents suggests the existence of another burial site filled with untapped potential.
"And thank goodness they did actually break one or two things, because that’s how we found out whose tomb it was." – Mohsen Kamel