The UK archaeologist behind the recent discovery of a tomb belonging to the pharaoh Thutmose II says he has discovered the location of a possible second tomb. Piers Litherland believes this latest chamber could contain the mummy of Thutmose II—despite a mummy housed at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo having long been identified as the ancient Egyptian king.
Litherland led a joint British-Egyptian delegation which discovered the first tomb in 2022. Last week the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery, revealing the tomb to be that of Thutmose II, and the first royal burial chamber to be unearthed since King Tutankhamun’s. The tomb was discovered near the Valley of the Kings in West Luxor.
Discussing the second tomb, Litherland told The Observer: “There are 23 metres of a pile of man-made layers sitting above a point in the landscape where we believe—and we have other confirmatory evidence—there is a monument concealed beneath,” he said, adding that it would take around a month to dismantle the site.
The mummy of King Thutmose II was believed to have been discovered during the 19th century at a nearby archaeological site known as the Deir el-Bahari Cachette. A pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, who ruled from 1493 to 1479BC, Thutmose II is thought to have died around the age of 30.
But Litherland tells The Art Newspaper that it is possible that the mummy found at Deir el-Bahari Cachette, which now resides at the Cairo museum, may not be Thutmose II. He explains that this mummy, which has been repeatedly given an age at death of 30, was labelled “Aa-en-re”. Since the only king with an “en” in his name is Thutmose II, whose regnal name was “Aa-kheper-en-re”, Litherland says this mummy was identified as being Thutmose II.
He continues: “This is the only basis for identifying the mummy as Thutmose II. It is known that several of the mummies were mislabelled so this evidence is pretty shaky. It is only the fact that it has been repeated over and over again which has given it any weight.”
The archaeologist adds that there is not a single funerary item relating to Thutmose II’s burial in any museum or private collection, and that any which are known were found by his own team over the last two years. He asks: “If his body has been found why, unlike many other kings of the New Kingdom, have his funerary goods, or fragments of his burial equipment, never been found?”
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization was contacted for comment.
