Tomb of Thutmose II: First Egyptian Royal Tomb Found in 100 Years

The 18th Dynasty of Egypt was the start of its last golden age as a superpower. Its founder, Ahmose I, rose to control the whole of the Nile, expelling the mysterious semitic Hyksos rulers in the north and freeing Egypt from their rule for the first time in generations.

The pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty, first rulers of the so-called Egyptian New Kingdom, are among the most famous in history. Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh and husband to the beautiful otherworldly Nefertiti, was from this line of kings, as was his eventual successor Tutankhamun.

Also amongst these kings is Thutmose II, a relatively unknown king and the fourth of the dynasty. It is the tomb of this king which, according to an announcement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, has just been uncovered.

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The find, made near the ancient ruins of Luxor by a joint Egyptian-British archaeological mission, is the first discovery of an Egyptian Royal tomb since the discovery of Tutankhamun in 1922. Broken alabaster vessels within the tomb leave no doubt, referring to its occupant as the “dead king” Thutmose II.

The tomb was originally discovered in 2022, but at first there was confusion as to who it was for. Given its location near the tombs of the wives of Thutmose III, it had been theorized that this also was the tomb of a wife of an 18th Dynasty pharaoh.

The tomb had been heavily damaged relatively soon after its creation by flooding, with its floor apparently raised so its contents could be recovered and moved elsewhere. This left the interior in a very poor state of preservation, although painstaking work by the archaeological team has managed to piece together something of what it was like.

Fragments of mortar in the tomb reveal the walls were painted with yellow stars and inscriptions in a blue text, whole paragraphs copied from the ancient Egyptian text known as “Im-Duat.” This religious text has a particular association with the tombs of Egyptian kings.

The orientation of the tomb itself is also important, and in its correct context Egyptologists can see how it fits into the lineage of 18th Dynasty tomb design. Thutmose II’s tomb with its simple architecture seems to have acted as a nucleus for later tombs, which copied this layout. 

Thutmose’s body has been known to modern archaeology since 1881. But the tomb of this mysterious pharaoh, almost wiped from the record by his wife and successor, has now finally been found.

Header Image: The alabaster remnants found in the tomb with the royal name of Thutmose II highlighted. Source: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.