Tomb of king Thutmose II, the last missing tomb of the 18th dynasty kings has been discovered. This is the first royal tomb discovery since the unveiling of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922.
Researchers have uncovered the tomb of king Thutmose II, the last missing royal tomb of the 18th Dynasty. The discovery was made during excavation and research work at Tomb C4, whose entrance and main corridor were initially discovered in 2022 in the C Valley, located approximately 2.4 kilometres west of the Valley of the Kings in Luxor’s western mountain region.
This is the first royal tomb to be discovered since the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb over a century ago in 1922.
When the entrance and main corridor of Tomb C4 were uncovered in October 2022, the researchers initially believed it to be the tomb of one of the royal wives of the Thutmosid kings. This assumption was based on proximity of Tomb C4 to the tombs of wives of King Thutmose III and Queen Hatshepsut’s tomb. However, the fragments of alabaster jars collected this season were found to be inscribed with the name of Pharaoh Thutmose II as the “deceased king,” alongside the name of his chief royal consort, Queen Hatshepsut. This finding positively confirmed Pharaoh Thutmose II to be the owner of Tomb C4.
Queen Hatshepsut was the wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II and the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She had originally prepared her tomb as a royal consort before ascending the throne as pharaoh.
The artifacts found within the tomb provide critical insights into the history of the region and the reign of Thutmose II. Notably, this discovery includes funerary furniture belonging to the king, marking the first-ever find of such items, as no funerary furniture of Thutmose II exists in museums worldwide.
Burial arrangements for the king were overseen by Queen Hatshepsut.
The tomb was in a poor state of preservation due to flooding shortly after the king’s death. Water inundated the tomb, damaging its interior. Preliminary studies suggest that the tomb’s original contents were relocated to another site during ancient times after the flooding.
The tomb’s simple architectural design served as a prototype for later royal tombs of the 18th Dynasty. It features a plastered corridor leading to the burial chamber, with the floor of the corridor elevated approximately 1.4 meters above the burial chamber’s floor. The elevated corridor is believed to have been used to relocate the tomb’s contents, including the mummy of Thutmose II, following the flooding.
Thutmose II is an elusive figure in the ancient Egyptian pharaonic history. As the fourth king of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Thutmose II reigned in the early-fifteenth century B.C.E. He was the son of King Thutmose I and a member of dynasty of ancient Egyptian ‘warrior pharaohs’. He was both the half-brother and consort of Queen Hatshepsut, who was also the daughter of Thutmose I. Approximately seven years after death of Thutmose II, Hatshepsut ascended to the Egyptian throne as pharaoh, ruling beside Thutmose II’s son, Thutmose III, until her death.
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References:
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities Arab Republic of Egypt. Press release – Tomb of King Thutmose II, the last lost tomb of the 18th Dynasty kings in Egypt, has been discovered. Published 18 February 2025.
- Macquarie University, Sydney. M.Res. dissertation – Thutmose II: Re-evaluating the evidence for an elusive king of the early Eighteenth Dynasty. Published 3 November 2021. Available at https://figshare.mq.edu.au/ndownloader/files/38149266
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