A few days ago, we experienced something in the Valley of the Kings that hadn't been seen since 1922. On February 18th, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of the first tomb of Pharaoh Tutmosis II. In this article, we join in celebrating this archaeological milestone and delve into the details of the discovery as well as the figure of this pharaoh from the 18th dynasty.
Who was Tutmosis II?
Aajeperenra Thutmose, more commonly known as Tutmosis II, was a pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty (New Kingdom), son of Tutmosis I and one of his secondary wives, Mutnefret. His brief reign is estimated to have lasted three years (Gabolde, 1987), about which very little information has been available until now.
In general, his policy developed following the governance dynamics established by his father, without significant changes or reforms and aiming to consolidate the power of the dynasty. For this purpose, he took as wife his sister Hatshepsut, who would have a strong presence during his reign (Shaw, 2000, p. 489).
Despite the scarcity of documents about this monarch, it is interesting to highlight two military episodes abroad: on one hand, the rebellion of Kush, which he easily suppressed by sending an army formed by his father's men, leading to the total disappearance of that kingdom (Shaw, 2000, p. 488); and on the other, a confrontation with the Bedouin shasu in Sinai, apparently due to an incursion into the area of Syria (Gardiner, 1964, p. 180).
He died in 1513 BC and was succeeded by his wife Hatshepsut, who proclaimed herself Pharaoh of Egypt.
The DB320 and the discovery of the mummy
The tomb DB320 is located in the necropolis of Thebes (Luxor, Egypt) near Deir el-Bahari. It is a hiding place where a large number of royal and noble mummies from different dynasties were found, ranging from the 17th Dynasty to the Third Intermediate Period (Lull, 2017, p. 149).
It was discovered in 1860 by a local family who kept it secret, selling part of the artifacts it contained. These sales would be the clue that led Gaston Maspero and Emile Brugsch to locate the chamber, with the latter discovering more than 50 mummies in various states of preservation (Maspero, pp. 518-519), which had been moved from their original locations to protect them from looters.
It was not until 1967 that the first steps were taken to corroborate and identify the mummies with their respective pharaohs, using X-rays to establish significant factors such as true dates of death (Harris and Wente, 1980). Today, the mummy associated with Pharaoh Tutmosis II is CG 61066, corresponding to a man between 30 and 40 years old, but it still cannot be confirmed definitively (Habicht et al., 2016, p. 219).
The C4: last lost tomb of the 18th Dynasty
In October 2022, the entrance and main passage were located of the tomb C4 in the Wadi C area of Thebes, less than 3 km from the Valley of the Kings. Initially, archaeologists thought that the tomb might belong to a princess due to its proximity to the burials of Tutmosis III's wives.
However, during this latest campaign it has been confirmed that the true owner of the tomb was none other than Tutmosis II, as alabaster vases with the pharaoh's name have been found which leave no doubt.
The tomb is characterized by a simple architectural design, typical of members of this dynasty, and it was in very poor condition due to flooding. The discovery was carried out by the New Kingdom Research Foundation team led by Piers Litherland and Mohamed Abdel-Badie.
There is no doubt that this discovery represents a very significant milestone in the history of Egyptology, as it concerns the tomb of a member of one of the most well-known dynasties in Ancient Egyptian history. New questions arise and new hopes emerge. After all, there are many pharaohs whose places of burial have yet to be located. Ramses VIII, Psammetic I, Cleopatra VII... Which will be next?
Bibliography
Gabolde, L. (1987). The chronology of the reign of Thutmosis II and its consequences on the dating of royal mummies and their implications for the development of the Valley of the Kings. Studien zur altägyptischen Kultur, 61-81.
Gardiner, A. H. (1964). Egypt of the Pharaohs. Oxford University Press.
Habicht, M. E., Bouwman, A. S., & Rühli, F. J. (2016). Reconsidering identifications of ancient Egyptian royal mummies from the 18th Dynasty. American journal of physical anthropology, 159, 216-231.
Harris, J. E., & Wente, E. F. (1980). An X-ray Atlas of the Royal Mummies. University of Chicago Press.
Lull, J. (2017). The problem of ķƷj of Inithapi and its identification with DB 320, the tomb of Painedjem II. Aula Orientalis: Revista de estudios del Próximo Oriente Antiguo, 35(1), 149-165.
Maspero, G. (1889). The royal mummies of Deir el-Bahari. E Leroux.
Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities: https://mota.gov.eg/ar/الأخبار-2/الكشف-عن-مقبرة-الملك-تحتمس-الثاني-آخر-مقبرة-مفقودة-لملوك-الأسرة-الثامنة-عشر-في-مصر/ (last accessed on 02/03/2025).
Shaw, I. (2000). A History of Ancient Egypt. La esfera de los libros, SL.
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