First Egyptian Pharaoh's Tomb Discovered Found After 100 Years

Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed the ancient tomb of King Thutmose II, marking the first discovery of a pharaonic royal tomb in over a century since Tutankhamun's tomb was found in 1922.

Located west of the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, the tomb of Thutmose II, an 18th Dynasty king and ancestor of Tutankhamun, dates back nearly 3,500 years. Initially mistaken for a queen's burial site, the tomb was identified through inscriptions referencing Thutmose II and his wife, Queen Hatshepsut, one of Egypt's few female rulers. The tomb was damaged by flooding shortly after the king's burial, however, some funerary furniture and plaster fragments with blue inscriptions from the Book of the Amduat were recovered.

Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has hailed the discovery as one of the most significant archaeological breakthroughs in years, potentially boosting tourism as the country prepares to open the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza pyramids.