ARCHAEOLOGISTS have announced the discovery of the first royal tomb since Tutankhamen was uncovered more than 100 years ago.
The long-lost burial place of King Thutmose II was found close to a vast burial ground known as The Valley of the Kings in Luxor.
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The entrance to the tomb and its main passage were initially discovered in 2022, but continued excavations found evidence linking it to the Pharaoh.
Fragments of vases inscribed with the Pharaoh’s name were found in the tomb, identifying Thutmose II as the ‘deceased king’.
Sections of a religious text and blue paint and yellow stars that were placed in the tomb of kings were also found.
Archaeologists uncovered Thutmose II’s mummified remains two centuries ago not far from his tomb, but the original burial site had never been found until now.
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The tomb was discovered as part of a joint British-Egyptian archaeological mission, and is the last missing tomb of the kings of the 18th dynasty in Egypt.
Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities,described the discovery as one of the “most significant archaeological finds in recent years”.
The tomb’s structure is simple with an entrance, sloping main corridor and burial chamber.
Sadly, the tomb was found in a poor state of preservation due to floods shortly after the king’s death and it is thought that many of the original contents of the site may have been relocated.
King Thutmose II was the fourth Pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, and is thought to have reigned from about 1493 BC to 1479 BC. He died at the age of 30.
King Thutmose II was married to Queen Hatshepsut, who made history as a powerful female pharaoh.
Who was King Thutmose II?
- King Thutmose II was the fourth Pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty.
- He is thought for around 13 years from 1493 BC to 1479 BC.
- He is known for suppressing an uprising in Nubia and leading armies to stop rebels in the Levant.
- He was married to his half-sister Queen Hatshepsut, who made a name for herself as a powerful female pharaoh.
- He died at the age of 30.
- His mummified body was discovered in a tomb near Luxor two centuries ago, in 1881.
Unlike King Thutmose II’s sparse tomb, King Tut’s burial site was filled with around 5,000 items.
Tutankhamen’s tomb (categorised KV 62) is one of best preserved of all those found in The Valley of Kings, and made front pages around the world.
The tomb was discovered by English archaeologist Howard Carter, who set about finding and excavating it in 1915.
He eventually found the site of the pharaoh’s remains in November 1922, but it took another three months before the archaeologist finally found the sarcophagus itself.
Tutankhamen’s tomb is unusually small considering his status, which suggests he may have died unexpectedly before a grander final resting place could be completed.
But there was a dark side to the story – following the unearthing of Tutankhamun’s remains, various figures connected with the expedition died in mysterious circumstances.
These included Lord Canarvon, the financial backer of the excavation team, who died from an infected mosquito bite.
Sir Archibald Douglas-Reid, who X-rayed the pharaoh’s remains, was killed by a mystery illness.
Carter himself died in 1939 from Hodgkin’s Disease aged 64.
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