Egyptian pharaoh tomb uncovered for the first time since Tutankhamun in 'remarkable discovery'

A tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh has been found in the first major discovery since Tutankhamun in 1922.

The “remarkable discovery” of the tomb of Thutmose II was made around 1.5 miles west of the famous Valley of the Kings in Egypt by a joint British-Egyptian team.

Thutmose II’s tomb is the last missing royal tomb of the 18th dynasty and was found in the western part of the Theban Necropolis. He died 3,500 years ago and is thought to have ruled for 14 years from around 1493 to 1479 BCE. He fathered one child, Thutmose III.

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities revealed that, for the first time, funeral furniture that belonged to the pharaoh was found inside, along with other artefacts including inscriptions that bore the name of his wife, Queen Hatshepsut, who latter became one of the only female pharaohs to rule in her own right, and fragments of alabaster jars which would have been used to store perfumes and oils.

The mission was conducted by experts from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the New Kingdom Research Foundation (NKRF), an independent British academic foundation. It was affiliated with the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge.

New Kingdom Research Foundation/PA Wire

According to a co-leader of the mission and head of the Egyptian antiquities sector, Mohamed Abdel Badi, the tomb was discovered in poor condition due to flooding that occurred not long after the death of the pharaoh.

Their discovery revealed that items inside the tomb were likely moved to a secondary tomb because of the flood, meaning there may well still be more to find.

Media House/PA Wire

Mission co-leader and field director Piers Litherland, explained: “This discovery solves a great mystery of Ancient Egypt: the location of the tombs of the early 18th dynasty kings.”

“The tomb of this ancestor of Tutankhamun had never been found because it was always thought to be at the other end of the mountain near the Valley of the Kings.

“Initially we thought we might have found the tomb of a royal wife, but the wide staircase and the large doorway suggested something more important.

“The discovery that the burial chamber had been decorated with scenes from the Amduat, a religious text which is reserved for kings, was immensely exciting and was the first indication that this was a king’s tomb,” Litherland said.

Mohsen Kamel, assistant field director, added: “The possible existence of a second, and most likely intact, tomb of Thutmose II is an astonishing possibility.”

Content creator MrBeast was also recently in Egypt, where he “hired” the Pyramids of Giza and filmed inside for 100 hours, with permission from the Egyptian government. He did so without Logan Paul, who claims he was denied entry into the country.

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