Valley of the Kings, Egypt – In a discovery hailed as the most significant since Tutankhamun, British archaeologist Dr. Piers Litherland has uncovered the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II, the first such find in over a century. The breakthrough came when Litherland noticed that the burial chamber’s ceiling was painted blue with yellow stars, an unmistakable royal motif.
Litherland, who has spent over a decade exploring the Valley of the Kings, came upon a staircase leading to the tomb. Initial assessments suggested it belonged to a royal wife, but as excavation continued, the presence of scenes from the Amduat—a sacred text reserved for kings—confirmed its true owner. Thutmose II ruled Egypt from 1493 to 1479 BC and was the husband and half-brother of the renowned female pharaoh Hatshepsut, as well as the father of Thutmose III.
In an emotional moment, Litherland described feeling an “extraordinary sort of bewilderment.” Recounting his reaction, he told the BBC World Service, “When I came out, my wife was waiting outside, and the only thing I could do was burst into tears.”
Despite its historical significance, the tomb was found empty—not due to looting, but because it had been deliberately cleared. The excavation revealed that it had been built beneath a waterfall and had suffered flooding within six years of the burial. The remains of Thutmose II were removed through a subsidiary corridor and relocated, leaving behind only fragments of alabaster inscribed with his name.
“This discovery solves a great mystery of ancient Egypt: the location of the tombs of the early 18th dynasty kings,” Litherland said. “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.”
The excavation was carried out by a joint mission between the New Kingdom Research Foundation, an independent British academic foundation, and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The project is affiliated with the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge.
Mohsen Kamel, assistant field director, suggested an even more astonishing prospect: “Considering the evidence that the contents of the tomb were moved, the possible existence of a second, and most likely intact, tomb of Thutmose II is an astonishing possibility.”
If confirmed, the discovery of a second burial site could provide invaluable insights into the burial practices of the early 18th Dynasty and potentially unearth treasures lost to time. The search continues, with archaeologists hopeful that further revelations await beneath the sands of Egypt.