Pharaoh Tomb from 3500 Years Ago Finally Found... First in 103 Years Since Tutankhamun

Egypt Confirms 3,500-Year-Old Pharaoh's Tomb
Thutmose II, Great-Great-Great-Grandfather of Tutankhamun
First Pharaoh's Tomb Discovered in 103 Years Since Tutankhamun

Entrance to the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II from 3500 years ago. Photo by BBC

A tomb of a pharaoh who lived about 3,500 years ago has been discovered in Egypt. The owner is Thutmose II, the fourth pharaoh of Egypt's 18th Dynasty. Thutmose II was the husband and half-brother of Hatshepsut, Egypt's female pharaoh, and the great-great-great-grandfather of Tutankhamun, one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs.

According to AFP on the 19th (local time), the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced that the ancient tomb found near Luxor has been confirmed as the royal tomb of Thutmose II. This is the first pharaoh's tomb discovered in 103 years since the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.

The entrance to the tomb was first discovered in 2022 in the western part of the Valley of the Kings near Luxor in the southern archaeological site. At that time, it was believed to be one of the spaces connected to Queen Hatshepsut's tomb. However, the excavation team confirmed the owner of the tomb after finding plaster vessels and jar fragments inscribed with the name of Thutmose II, as well as an inscription bearing the name of Queen Hatshepsut, his queen, at the site.

Entrance to the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II from 3,500 years ago. Provided by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The excavation team also explained that they discovered fragments of funerary furniture belonging to Thutmose II, blue inscriptions, and mortar pieces inscribed with yellow stars and religious texts. However, the preservation state of the tomb was found to be poor. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities stated, "The tomb was generally not well preserved due to flooding shortly after the pharaoh's death, and most of the contents inside the tomb appear to have disappeared."

Meanwhile, as part of efforts to revive the tourism industry, which was hit by political instability and violence following the 'Arab Spring' in 2011, the Egyptian government has been actively promoting new archaeological discoveries to foreign media in recent years. Egypt, which attracted 15.7 million tourists last year, aims to welcome 18 million tourists this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.