When Howard Carter fired the grave of Tutankhamun in 1922, this turned out to be one of the greatest discoveries in history.
For a hundred years, no other such Egyptian pharaoh -grave had been found – despite archaeologists who knew that more was excavated.
But now, after a century searching, another has finally unlocked after a mission led by Scotten Egyptologist Piers Lithland.
The long -lost grave of Thutmose II, Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, was found in the western valleys of the Theban Necropolis.
Thutmose II died 3,500 years ago and his final resting place remained debate and speculation for generations – and his grave was the only tomb of the king of the 18th dynasty that was still missing.
The discovery was made in October 2022, but nobody realized that the grave was his and thought that instead it thought it belonged to one of the queens or princesses of the time.
Mr Lithland, from Galashiels, in Roxburghshire, said: 'This discovery solves a great mystery of ancient Egypt: the location of the graves of the early 18th Dynasty Koningen.
'The grave of this ancestor of Tutankhamun was never found because it was always thought that it was on the other side of the mountain near the valley of the kings.
Piers Lithland led a mission that found the grave of an Egyptian Pharoah by the British -led mission to find the first such grave since Tutankhamun a hundred years ago
King Thutmose II, the fourth Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The grave of Thutmose II was the last of the lost graves of the kings of the eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt
'Initially we thought we might have found the grave of a royal woman, but the wide staircase and the large doorway suggested something more important.
“The discovery that the burial room was decorated with scenes from the Amduat, a religious text reserved for kings, was enormously exciting and was the first indication that this was a tomb of a king.”
Thutmose II was the husband and half -brother of Hatshepsut, considered one of the largest pharaohs in Egypt.
Artifacts discovered in the newly discovered grave, including excerpts of alabaster -pots with inscriptions with the names of Thutmose II and his most important woman Hatshepsut, provided definitive proof of its ownership.
These are the only artifacts connected to the funeral ever found.
During the reign of Thutmose III, archaeological evidence suggests, there was a catastrophic flood in the grave, which meant that the content was moved to a second.
The discovery by the mission of an intact foundation payment suggests that this second grave is hidden in the same valley.
Mohsen Kamel, the assistant field director of the mission, said: “The possible existence of a second and most likely intact, grave of Thutmose II is an amazing possibility.”
On November 4, 1922, the group of Carter found steps that led to the grave of Tutankhamun and spent several months cataloging the antechamber
The find also makes doubts about the identity of a body found in the Royal Cache in 1881 that had previously been identified as Thutmose II.
That body is consistently dated to more than 30 years old.
Thutmose II, however, was described as 'the falcon of the nest' when he came to the throne and reigned just long enough to keep the baby Thutmose III before killing after a regime that was unlikely for more than four years.
It is thought that the regime of Thutmose II dates from approximately 1493 to 1479 BC.
But his life is overshadowed by his more famous father Thutmose I, his wife Hatshepsut who is one of the few women who ruled in himself, and his son Thutmose III.
The newest discovery was made on a joint mission between the New Kingdom Research Foundation, a British Independent Academic Foundation and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquity.
It is the highlight of 12 years of work in the western valleys by the mission that has previously established the identity of more than 30 royal women and judicial women of this period and has excavated 54 graves in the western part of the Theban Mountain in Luxor.
Sherif Fathy, Egyptian Tourism and Antiques Minister, said: “This is the first Royal Grave that is discovered since the groundbreaking find of the funeral room of King Tutankhamun in 1922.
“It is an extraordinary moment for Egyptology and the broader understanding of our shared human story.”
The rulers of the 18th dynasty include some of the most famous and powerful pharaohs of ancient Egypt, including Tutankhamun.
