A SCOTS archaeologist has unearthed the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh for the first time since the discovery of Tutankhamun more than a century ago.
Piers Litherland, from Galashiels, located the original resting place of Thutmose II in the Western Valleys of the Theban Necropolis in Egypt.
Piers Litherland, from Galashiels, led an expedition to the world-famous Valley of the Kings[/caption]
His team found the remains of Thutmose II – who died 3500 years ago.[/caption]
Thutmose II was an ancestor of Tutankhamun – whose tomb was found in 1922 – and died 3,500 years ago.[/caption]
Thutmose II was an ancestor of Tutankhamun – whose tomb was found in 1922 – and died 3,500 years ago.
Piers said: “Initially we thought we might have found the tomb of a royal wife, but the wide staircase and the large doorway suggested something more important.
“The discovery that the burial chamber had been decorated with scenes from the Amduat, a religious text which is reserved for kings, was immensely exciting and was the first indication that this was a king’s tomb.”
Artefacts discovered in the tomb also include fragments of alabaster jars bearing inscriptions with the names of Thutmose II and his principal wife, Hatshepsut.
But archaeologists had spent decades searching for Thutmose II’s tomb in the wrong place after believing he was buried near the famous Valley of the Kings.
Piers, who is an Honorary Research Associate of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at Cambridge University, added: “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.
“This discovery solves a great mystery of ancient Egypt – the location of the tombs of the early 18th dynasty kings.”
Thutmose II was the husband and half-brother of Hatshepsut, considered one of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs.
He is believed to have ruled for around four years – between 1493 to 1479 BCE – and fathered one child, Thutmose III.
The discovery is a result of 12 years of hard graft by field director Piers and Dr Judith Bunbury, a Fellow of Wolfson College, who headed up a team of Egyptian and international experts and local workers.
In total they had previously established the identities of more than 30 royal wives and court women after excavating 54 tombs in the western part of the Theban mountain in Luxor.
But now the team wants to discover the final resting place of Thutmose II after his body was moved to a different tomb following a “catastrophic flood” shortly after he was buried.
Their find also casts doubt on the identity of a mummified body found in the Royal Cache in 1881 that had previously been identified as Thutmose II.
Mohsen Kamel, assistant field director, said: “The possible existence of a second, and most likely intact, tomb of Thutmose II is an astonishing possibility.”
Artefacts discovered in the tomb also include fragments of alabaster jars bearing inscriptions with the names of Thutmose II and his principal wife, Hatshepsut.[/caption]
It is the first royal tomb to be discovered since 1922[/caption]
The discovery is a result of 12 years of hard graft by field director Piers and Dr Judith Bunbury[/caption]
Minister of tourism and antiquities Sherif Fathy added: “This is the first royal tomb to be discovered since the ground-breaking find of King Tutankhamun’s burial chamber in 1922.
“It is an extraordinary moment for Egyptology and the broader understanding of our shared human story.”
