Egypt unveils first ancient royal tomb since Tutankhamun

Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered the tomb of King Thutmose II, marking the first royal burial discovery in over a century, the country's antiquities authority announced Tuesday.

The tomb, located near the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, belonged to Thutmose II of the 18th dynasty, who ruled nearly 3,500 years ago. The pharaoh was the husband of Queen Hatshepsut, one of ancient Egypt’s most powerful female rulers.

The discovery was made by a joint Egyptian-British mission, led by the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the New Kingdom Research Foundation.

The tomb’s entrance was initially found in 2022 and is believed to belong to a royal wife. However, inscriptions and artifacts later confirmed it as the burial site of Thutmose II.

Although the tomb had been looted in antiquity, researchers uncovered fragments of alabaster jars inscribed with the king’s name, funerary furniture, and remnants of the Book of Amduat, an ancient text detailing the underworld. Water damage had left the burial chamber in poor condition, but the find remains one of the most significant archaeological breakthroughs in recent years, according to Egypt’s antiquities ministry.

Excavations will continue in hopes of recovering more original contents of the tomb, researchers said.