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( Image credit: Photo thanks to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities )
The burial place of Thutmose II, a pharaoh who was wed to Queen Hatshepsut and ruled Egypt about 3,500 years earlier, has actually been found west of the Valley of the Kings.
It is the very first discovery of a pharaoh’s burial place given that King Tutankhamun‘s burial place was uncovered in 1922, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities stated in an equated declaration
Unlike King Tut’s burial, the newly found burial place is primarily empty and does not have a body. Archaeologists discovered that the burial place had actually been flooded quickly after Thutmose II was buried, so the serious items had actually been taken elsewhere, the declaration stated.
“The entire contents of the tomb had been removed. The tomb was not robbed,” Piers Litherlandan Egyptologist at the University of Cambridge and co-leader of the group that discovered the burial place, informed Live Science in an e-mail. “The burial was taken out in its entirety.”
Archaeologists initially discovered the burial place in October 2022, the declaration stated, however it wasn’t up until the late 2024 and early 2025 excavation season when pottery, which bears the name of Thutmose II, was evaluated that the scientists had the ability to determine the tomb as the pharaoh’s burial place. Among the pottery pieces “bore a label indicating it contained natron which was used for embalming,” Litherland stated. “This confirms that a burial did initially take place in the tomb.”
The burial place has to do with 95.1 feet (29 meters) long and consists of a burial chamber that is 17.4 by 17.1 by 11.2 feet (5.3 by 5.2 by 3.4 meters), Litherland stated.
It’s possible that there is an undiscovered 2nd burial place where the things were transferred to after the flood, Litherland kept in mind. A mummy reburied in a cache at Deir el-Bahari, a close-by website, has actually been recognized by some Egyptologists as Thutmose II. This mummy might be too old (perhaps age 40 at time of death) to be Thutmose II, and his mummy and the 2nd burial place might lie undisturbed somewhere else, he included.
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Hatshepsut’s spouse and sibling
Little is learnt about Thutmose II’s reign, according to the National Museum of Egyptian CivilizationFor how long he ruled refers argument, and it might have been less than 5 years, the museum reports. Some scholars think his reign lasted much longer, with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City approximating that he ruled from around 1492 to 1479 B.C.
Historic records suggest that throughout his reign, Thutmose II compressed an uprising in Nubia, a location in what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan that was managed by Egypt at that time. Historic records likewise state he campaigned in the eastern Mediterranean with his armies, venturing as far as modern-day Syria.
Thutmose II is maybe most well-known for weding his half sibling HatshepsutAfter Thutmose II’s death, Hatshepsut increased to end up being a female pharaoh.
Part of the interior of Thutmose II’s burial place. The burial place was flooded soon after the pharaoh was buried, and the contents of the burial place were eliminated in ancient times, though not by serious burglars.
“Exciting discovery”
Responses in the field varied from interest to hesitation.
“I think it is an exciting discovery” and provides insight into the history of the Valley of the Kings and close-by burial websites, Filip Taterkaan Egyptology teacher at the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences, informed Live Science in an e-mail.
Taterka kept in mind that there has actually been an enduring argument about who was the very first pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings, the luxurious burial ground that pharaohs utilized after they stopped constructing burial places in or around significant pyramidsThe argument is continuous, “with some scholars pointing to Hatshepsut and [others] to Thutmose I,” Taterka stated. Considered That Thutmose II was the kid of Thutmose I and the newly found burial place lies west of the valley, it makes it likelier that Hatshepsut was the very first pharaoh buried in the Valley of the Kings, Taterka stated.
Not everybody concurred that the burial place belongs to a pharaoh. Thomas Schneidera teacher of Egyptology and Near Eastern research studies at the University of British Columbia, stated more proof is required to link the newly found burial place to Thutmose II.
“I am very sceptical and would need to see further details in support of such an identification,” Schneider stated in an e-mail. The recently found burial place remains in a location referred to as Wadi Gabbanat El Qurud, which “would be surprising for a king’s tomb,” Schneider stated. This location does not include the burial of any other pharaohs.
“Several candidates for the tomb of Thutmose II in the Valley of the Kings have been proposed,” Schneider kept in mind, and he believes it is most likely that Thutmose II was buried inside the valley itself.
Aidan Dodsonan Egyptology teacher at the University of Bristol in the U.K., is encouraged that this is Thutmose II’s burial place and stated it’s “great that they believe they’ve now confirmed the tomb’s ownership.” When the burial place was discovered back in 2022,” Dodson said, “it promised that it was his– and now it appears particular.”
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Owen Jarus is a routine factor to Live Science who blogs about archaeology and human beings’ past. He has actually likewise composed for The Independent (UK), The Canadian Press (CP) and The Associated Press (AP), to name a few. Owen has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto and a journalism degree from Ryerson University.
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