What happened
An Egyptian-British archaeological mission has found the tomb of King Thutmose II, who ruled ancient Egypt about 3,500 years ago, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said Tuesday.
It was the final undiscovered royal tomb of Egypt’s 18th dynasty and the first burial chamber of a pharaoh unearthed since Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922.
Who said what
Archaeologists determined that the tomb, unearthed in 2022, belonged to Thutmose II from shards of alabaster jars and the tomb’s kingly decor, Dr. Piers Litherland, the mission’s British field director, told the BBC Wednesday. The tomb itself “turned out to be completely empty,” he said, “not because it was robbed but because it had been deliberately emptied,” probably after it was flooded a few years after the king’s burial. The mummy of Thutmose II was discovered in the 19th century, not far from his tomb.
“Little is known about Thutmose II,” CNN said. He is “best known for being the husband of Queen Hatshepsut, regarded as one of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs and one of the few female pharaohs who ruled in her own right,” the BBC said. The tomb revealed that Thutmose II was buried by Hatshepsut, his wife and half-sister. She was buried in the Valley of the Kings.
What next?
Litherland said his team would continue searching the area and had a rough idea of where to find Thutmose II’s second tomb, which he hoped was still intact and filled with treasures.