--- title: "Explorers Discover First Pharaoh Tomb in Over 100 Years" description: "A British-Egyptian team of researchers has discovered what it says is the first pharaoh's tomb in over a century." date: "2025-02-20" modified: "2025-02-20" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/first-pharaoh-tomb-century" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "Egypt" - "Egyptology" --- # Explorers Discover First Pharaoh Tomb in Over 100 Years ![A British-Egyptian team of researchers has discovered what it says is the first pharaoh's tomb in over a century.]() *\Image: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities\* A British-Egyptian team of researchers has discovered what it says is the first pharaoh's tomb in over a century. As the [*BBC* reports](), the team discovered the tomb of King Thutmose II in the Western valleys of the Theban Necropolis, near Luxor, Egypt. "It is an extraordinary moment for Egyptology and the broader understanding of our shared human story," said Egypt's minister of tourism and antiquities Sherif Fathy in a statement. It must've been an extremely moving moment for everybody involved. "The emotion of getting into these things is just one of extraordinary bewilderment because when you come across something you're not expecting to find, it's emotionally extremely turbulent really," mission field director Peirs Litherland told the *BBC*. "And when I came out, my wife was waiting outside and the only thing I could do was burst into tears," he added. The discovery has considerable implications for our understanding of the 18th dynasty of Egypt, which spanned the period from 1549 to 1292 BC. The last pharaoh's tomb to be discovered belonged to one of Thutmose II's ancestors, Tutankhamun, who also lived during the 18th dynasty. Egyptologists have long been wondering where the kings of this dynasty were buried. Now that they've discovered Thutmose II's burial site, researchers could soon hone in on other burial sites. Interestingly, the pharaoh's mummified remains were discovered two centuries ago, but the location of his tomb has remained unknown until now. Litherland and his team had to descend a "large staircase" and a "very large descending corridor." Upon entering the tomb, they discovered a "blue-painted ceiling with yellow stars on it," as he told the *BBC*, which "are only found in kings' tombs." "It was only after crawling through a \[32-foot\] passageway that had a small \[15-inch\] gap at the top that we got into the burial chamber," he said. To their surprise, the burial site "turned out to be completely empty. Not because it was robbed but because it had been deliberately emptied." The team pieced together that the tomb's contents must've been moved to another location after being flooded by an overhanging waterfall. "The tomb is situated in a poorly-chosen place beneath two waterfalls and at the bottom of a slope down which water would have (and did) pour in the much wetter weather of the 18th dynasty," Litherland [told *CNN*](). The researchers discovered fragments of jars that had Thutmose II's name inscribed on them, which "had probably broken when the tomb was being moved." Excitingly, the team claims to have a rough idea of where this second location may be, suggesting we could soon be in store for even more exciting discoveries. **More on Egypt:** *[Scientists Find Evidence That Ancient Egyptians Were Tripping Balls]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()