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The grave of Thutmose II , a pharaoh who was marital to Queen Hatshepsut and ruled Egypt about 3,500 years ago , has been discovered west of the Valley of the Riley B King .
It is the first discovery of a Pharaoh of Egypt ’s grave sinceKing Tutankhamun ’s grave was unearthed in 1922 , the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities enunciate in a translatedstatement .
The name of Thutmose II is seen on ceramics found at the burial site — a discovery that enabled archaeologists to identify the tomb.
However , unlike King Tut ’s entombment , the newfound grave is mostly empty and does n’t have a consistence . Archaeologists find that the tomb had been flooded shortly after Thutmose II was buried , so the severe trade good had been read somewhere else , the statement said .
" The entire cognitive content of the tomb had been absent . The grave was not robbed,“Piers Litherland , an Egyptologist at the University of Cambridge and co - leader of the squad that found the grave , told Live Science in an e-mail . " The sepulture was take aim out in its entirety . "
Archaeologists first notice the tombin October 2022 , the command say , but it was n’t until the belated 2024 and early 2025 dig season when pottery , which bear the name of Thutmose II , was canvass that the researchers were able to identify the burial spot as the Pharaoh of Egypt ’s grave . One of the pottery pieces " bear a label indicating it contained natron which was used for embalming , " Litherland enunciate . " This corroborate that a interment did ab initio take place in the tomb . "
(Image credit: Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
The tomb is about 95.1 feet ( 29 metre ) long and contains a sepulture chamber that is 17.4 by 17.1 by 11.2 infantry ( 5.3 by 5.2 by 3.4 meters ) , Litherland said .
It ’s possible that there is an undiscovered 2nd grave where the object were move to after the deluge , Litherland noted . A mom reburied in a stash at Deir el - Bahari , a nearby site , has been identified by some Egyptologists as Thutmose II . However , this mummy may be too old ( possibly age 40 at clock time of expiry ) to be Thutmose II , and his mummy and the 2d grave may lie undisturbed elsewhere , he added .
Hatshepsut’s husband and brother
Little is recognize about Thutmose II ’s reign , according to theNational Museum of Egyptian Civilization . How long he ruled is a matter of debate , and it may have been less than five years , the museum reports . However , some learner believe his reign hold out much longer , with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York Cityestimatingthat he ruled from around 1492 to 1479 B.C.
diachronic records signal that during his reign , Thutmose II squashed an uprising in Nubia , an area in what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan that was hold in by Egypt at that time . Historical records also say he agitate in the easterly Mediterranean with his armies , venturing as far as modern - day Syria .
Thutmose II is perhaps most famous for marry his half sisterHatshepsut . After Thutmose II ’s demise , Hatshepsut rose to become a distaff pharaoh .
(Image credit: Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
Part of the DoI of Thutmose II ’s grave . The grave was flooded shortly after the pharaoh was bury , and the contents of the tomb were remove in ancient times , though not by grave robbers .
The corpse of the laurel wreath see in Thutmose II ’s grave .
“Exciting discovery”
Reactions in the field of operation ranged from ebullience to skepticism .
" I think it is an exciting breakthrough " and offers insight into the history of the Valley of the Kings and nearby burial situation , Filip Taterka , an Egyptology prof at the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences , told Live Science in an email .
Taterka mark that there has been a long - stand debate about who was the first pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings , the lavish burial basis that pharaohs used after theystopped make tombs in or around monumental pyramids . The debate is on-going , " with some scholars pointing to Hatshepsut and [ others ] to Thutmose I , " Taterka said . give that Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I and the newfound tomb is located Benjamin West of the valley , it make it likelier that Hatshepsut was the first Pharaoh of Egypt inhume in the Valley of the Kings , Taterka said .
But not everyone agreed that the tomb belongs to a Pharaoh of Egypt . Thomas Schneider , a prof of Egyptology and Near Eastern study at the University of British Columbia , said more evidence is needed to link up the newfound grave to Thutmose II .
" I am very sceptical and would take to see further detail in support of such an designation , " Schneider said in an email . The new discovered tomb is in an region known as Wadi Gabbanat El Qurud , which " would be surprising for a king ’s grave , " Schneider enounce . This domain does not contain the burial of any other pharaohs .
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" Several prospect for the tomb of Thutmose II in the Valley of the Kings have been proposed , " Schneider observe , and he thinks it is more likely that Thutmose II was bury inside the valley itself .
Aidan Dodson , an Egyptology professor at the University of Bristol in the U.K. , is convinced that this is Thutmose II ’s tomb and enounce it ’s " enceinte that they believe they ’ve now confirm the tomb ’s ownership . " When the grave was found back in 2022 , " Dodson say , " it seemed probable that it was his — but now it seems certain . "
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