Thought to be lost: 3,500-year-old pharaonic tomb unearthed in Egypt

In a statement issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, it was reported that a joint Egyptian-British archaeological team, working in collaboration with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the New Kingdom Research Foundation, has discovered the 3,500-year-old lost tomb of King Thutmose II (1493-1481 BC).

The ministry announced that this tomb is "the last lost tomb belonging to the kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty (approximately 1550/1549-1292 BC) in Egypt."

It was stated that the tomb was found in an area on the Theban Mountain, approximately 2.4 kilometers from the Valley of the Kings, located west of Luxor. The tomb, the entrance of which was identified by archaeologists in 2022, was brought to light as a result of ongoing excavation and examination work.

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy emphasized the importance of the discovery, stating that it is "the first royal tomb found since the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922."

Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, reported that the names of King Thutmose II and his wife Hatshepsut were inscribed on parts of the vessels found in the tomb. He stated that these inscriptions definitively confirm the owner of the tomb. Khaled described this discovery as "one of the most important archaeological discoveries of recent years."

Mohamed Abdel-Badei, Head of the Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Egyptian leader of the excavation team, said that the tomb was in very poor condition due to flooding that occurred shortly after the king's death.

Abdel-Badei noted that initial analyses indicate the original contents of the tomb were moved to another location following flooding events that occurred during the ancient Egyptian period.