Exceptional discovery in Egypt: it is the first tomb of a pharaoh found after over a century

When the British archaeologist Piers Litherland he raised his eyes and saw the ceiling of the funeral chamber painted blue with yellow starshe immediately understood that he had made an unprecedented discovery. He had just identified the First tomb dug in the rock of an Egyptian pharaoh found in more than a century.

Litherland had spent over ten years explore the western Wadi near the Valle dei Rein Egypt, when he came across one hidden staircasewho led him to the tomb. After months of excavation and removal of alluvial debris, it was confirmed that it belonged to Thutmose IIPharaoh who reigned between the 1493 and 1479 BC

A discovery initially attributed to a queen

During the early stages of the excavations, Litherland and his team were convinced that the tomb belonged to one royal consort. However, when they managed to reach the funeral chamber, they noticed immediately The majesty of the structure and the decoration of the ceiling with scenes taken from theAMDUATa sacred text reserved exclusively for sovereigns.

It was at that moment that the archaeologist understood that he had made one of the most significant discoveries Since Tutankhamon’s time:

It was a moment of absolute astonishment. When I left the tomb, my wife was waiting for me out. The only thing I managed to do was burst into tears.

Convinced of finding human remains within the burial, Lirland continued the excavations with the expectation of find a sarcophagusbut reality proved to be very different.

Instead of human remains or intact artifacts, the team found itself in front of A completely empty tomb. The reason, however, was not looting: the funeral chamber had been deliberately emptied. Research revealed that the structure had been built Under a natural waterfall and, about six years after the burial of Pharaoh, it had been flooded by the watermaking it unusable.

The remains of Thutmose II, according to Litherland, were probably transferred elsewhere through a secondary corridor. The confirmation of the identity of the pharaoh came only After a meticulous examination of the debrisin which the team found fragments of alabaster bearing his name.

They probably broke precisely during the movement of the burial. And fortunately, because it was thanks to these fragments that we discovered who the grave really belonged to.

The possibility of a second sepulcher still intact

The discovery is the result of a joint mission between the New Kingdom Research Foundationan independent British academic institution directed by Litherland, and the Egyptian ministry of tourism and antiquityin collaboration with the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research of the University of Cambridge.

Thutmose II, in addition to being Husband and half brother of the famous Faraona Hatshepsutwas also a father of Thutmose IIIone of the greatest sovereigns of the XVIII dynasty.

According to Litherland, the discovery provides an answer to One of the great puzzles of Egyptian archeology: the burial place of the pharaohs of the first XVIII dynasty. “Until today, it was believed that his tomb should find himself on the other side of the mountainnear the Valley of the Kings, “explained the archaeologist.

Mohsen Kamel, assistant to the management of the excavations, then suggested an even more surprising possibility: if the content of the tomb was actually transferred elsewhere, A second sepulcher of Thutmose II could also exist still intact. If confirmed, this discovery could prove to be One of the greatest in the history of Egyptian archeology.