3,500-year-old tomb of ancient king unearthed in Egypt. See what was found inside
Archaeologists in Egypt announced a breakthrough discovery, saying they found the long-lost tomb of the ancient King Thutmose II. Photos show the burial site and its distinctive artifacts.
King Thutmose II’s life, death and afterlife are riddled with unanswered questions. Historians know he briefly ruled ancient Egypt around 3,500 years ago, but not much else about his reign. Archaeologists found his mummified remains in the 19th century as part of a larger royal cache, but his original tomb had never been found — until now.
A joint team of British and Egyptian archaeologists spent two years excavating a tomb, dubbed No. C4, a few miles west of Luxor. They found its entrance and main passage in 2022 and initially thought it might belong to the wife of an ancient king, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a Feb. 18 Facebook post.
But as they studied the tomb, archaeologists found more and more evidence linking it to King Thutmose II, officials said.
The team found several fragments of an alabaster vase with an inscription that included King Thutmose II’s name and referred to him as the deceased king, officials said. The tomb also included sections of a religious book specifically linked to the tombs of ancient Egyptian kings and plaster fragments painted blue and covered with yellow stars.
Archaeologists interpreted these finds as conclusive evidence that Tomb No. C4 originally belonged to King Thutmose II.
Photos show the deteriorated state of the 3,500-year-old tomb and a few of its distinctive artifacts.
Overall, the tomb had a simple design with an entrance, sloping main corridor and burial chamber. Archaeologists described it as poorly preserved, likely due to flood damage that occurred soon after the king’s death.
Work at the tomb is ongoing, and many questions linger over when and why the king’s mummy was removed from its initial burial site.
The last time archaeologists found the tomb of an ancient Egyptian royal was in 1922 with the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Luxor is in central Egypt, a roughly 400-mile drive southeast from Cairo and the site of ancient Thebes, the capital of the pharaohs.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 2:29 PM with the headline "3,500-year-old tomb of ancient king unearthed in Egypt. See what was found inside."
