Archaeologists have found a Pharaoh tomb in the Egyptian valley west of Luksor, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiques announced this week, in what officials have called the first excavation of the royal grave since Tutankhamen’s grave chamber more than a century ago.
The newly identified tomb belonged to Thutmose II, which is believed to have reigned around 1480 BC, was “the last disappeared royal grave of the 18th dynasty,” the Egyptian Ministry states.
The excavation was a joint project of Egyptian and British researchers who began in 2022, when the entrance and the main corridor of the tomb were found.
The archaeologists initially thought that the tomb belonged to the royal federal place, because of its position near the burial of royal wives and wife Thutmose II, Hatshepsut, who took the throne before his death.
Despite the claims of the Ministry that this was the first such discovery since 1922, archaeologists reported that they had found Pharaoh’s tomb in other parts of Egypt in decades, including in 1940 in Tanis and 2014 in Abidos. A member of the research team did not immediately answer the questions seeking clarification.
“I think what they mean is the first royal tomb in the area of the Kings Valley or the 18th Dynasty,” said Josef Wegner, a professor of Egyptian archeology at the University of Pennsylvania and the 2014 excavation leader. “There are other cases of royal tombs found.”
But he said that the newly discovered tomb was a “big, interesting discovery”, especially for the evidence that Hatshepsut “is a really central ruler of” her time.
The excavation suggests that Hatshepsut built the funeral sites for his father, and for Thutmose II, who was her husband and half -brother – and later moved them to the new tomb she had built.
“She buries the two most important men in her life together in this type of basic tomb,” said Mr. Wegner, who is also a curator at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia. “The importance of hatshepsite in forcing the valley of kings who go forward is truly strengthened.”
The newly dug grave was also unlikely to a royal burial: below two waterfalls and at the bottom of the slope, during many wet conditions of the 15th century BC
But the evidence from the tomb showed that it was actually built for the king, including the fragments of the Alabaster jars who appointed Thutmose II as the “late king”, and the inscriptions that appointed Hatshepsut. Part of the ceiling was also intact, showing a blue color with yellow stars on it, archaeologists said.
Most importantly, said Mr. Wegner, were the fragments that the team found that contains elements of amduat, the “Royal Book of Netherworld, which is starting to appear at the moment.”
“Sometimes discoveries are discovered, but only later their true significance becomes clear with additional research,” said Peter Der Manuelian, a professor of Egyptology at Harvard, who was not involved in excavation.
He noticed a similar case when a few decades ago a tomb in the valley of Kings proved to be “bigger and more unusual than anyone had understood before.” It turned out to be Built for many sons From Ramses II, one of the most powerful pharaohs of ancient Egypt.
Thutmose II, Mr. Manuelian said, “lived during the fascinating period of Egyptian history: the imperialist and cosmopolitan 18. His rule may have overshadowed those father, his son and queen, who ruled for almost 20 years and built a a the main temple And the tomb for itself.
“We are still trying to figure out the stings and exit of this era,” said Mr. Manuelian, “A” New “tomb will undoubtedly provide us with additional marks.”
Secretary General for the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquity, Mohamed Ismail Khaled, described the finding as one of the most significant in decades. “This is the first time discovered by funeral furniture belonging to Thutmose II,” said UA statement.
But unlike the tomb of the Tutankamen, whose chambers were found full of artifacts During the 1922 excavation, Thutmose II tomb was only emptied.
Archaeologists believe he flooded shortly after the king’s death and that his contents were moved to another place.
“Water damage caused serious deterioration, which led to the loss of many original content, which is believed to have been moved in ancient times,” said Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the Egyptian side of the archeological mission.
