Nearly 103 years after Howard Carter cracked open the final resting place of King Tutankhamun (BCE 1341 – BCE 1323), archaeologists discovered the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II in February 2025. Although King Tut was not so important as a pharaoh, the huge treasure found inside his tomb attracts millions of tourists every year. It is believed that the recently discovered tomb of King Thutmose II, the Fourth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt whose reign had lasted for 13 years from BCE 1493 to BCE 1479 BC (Low Chronology) or just three years from around BCE 1482 to BCE 1479, would attract more tourists.

BBC reported that a team of British-Egyptian archaeologists discovered the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II and found various valuable archaeological artefacts inside it. It may be noted that Thutmose II is the only pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty whose tomb remained undiscovered. The tomb is situated in the Western Valley, also known as the Valley of the Monkeys, in the Theban Necropolis on the west bank of the Nile River in Luxor.

Little is known about Pharaoh Thutmose II, as the predecessor of King Tut is overshadowed by his father Thutmose I, half-sister and wife Hatshepsut, and son Thutmose III. Interestingly, archaeologists discovered the tomb of Hatshepsut in 2022. The tomb of King Thutmose II has been found near the tomb of his wife. Talking to the media, archaeologist Piers Litherland said: “In fact, the tomb turned out to be completely empty, not because it had been robbed, but because it had been deliberately emptied.”

Litherland, who has been excavating the area for a decade, initially thought that the tomb shaft belonged to a royal wife. He explained that the ceiling of the tomb was blue with yellow stars, a sign that it belonged to a pharaoh. Finally, archaeologists identified King Thutmose II as the occupant through his name carved on shards of alabaster, while a decoration on the ceiling indicated royalty.

Members of the archaeological team are of the opinion that the tomb of King Thutmose II is less glamorous compared to that of King Tut. Mohamed Abdel Badie, the Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, claimed that the tomb was found in a poor state of preservation because of flooding (shortly after the demise of King Thutmose II), which meant most of the original contents were moved to another location. According to Litherland, the pieces had been broken during the move “and thank goodness they did actually break one or two things, because that’s how we found out whose tomb it was”. “We then worked out that the tomb had been flooded. It had been built underneath a waterfall, and it had filled with water at some stage within about six years of the burial,” he stressed.

It was previously speculated that the tomb of King Thutmose II might be located near the Valley of the Kings, where the tombs of other pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty, including that of King Tut’s, are located. However, it has been discovered in a different place. It may be noted that Thutmose III, the son of King Thutmose II and Hatshepsut, was a brilliant military commander who created the ancient world’s first professional navy, apart from raising the New Kingdom to its absolute zenith of territorial power.

Meanwhile, Mohsen Kamel, the Assistant Field Director of the team, insisted that “the possible existence of a second, and most likely intact, tomb of Thutmose II is an astonishing possibility”.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das