There’s a new king in town.
More than a century after King Tutunkhamun was discovered — elevating the ancient figure to celebrity status — archeologists have uncovered the tomb of King Thutmose II, Egyptian officials declared on Tuesday.
The historically important reveal is said to mark the end of a search for the lost tombs of the kings of ancient Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty — which ran from approximately 1550 BC to 1292 BC.
The finding comes more than one hundred years after King Tut’s remains were discovered in 1922, CBS News reported.
The entrance to the tomb, located at Thebes, a World Heritage Site west of the Nile River and Luxor, was first located in 2022 by a team of Egyptian and British scientists. The team has been working diligently since then to confirm its occupant.
At the time of the initial discovery, theories about who it might have belonged to abounded — however, it wasn’t until very recently that the experts were able to confirm that this was indeed Thutmose II’s final resting place.
Until it wasn’t, anyway — the ruler’s remains were actually found back in the 19th century at a separate, nearby location, leading the pros to believe that the body had been moved due to looting of the tomb.
Thutmose II’s mummy is currently on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
Dr Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, announced a number of findings within the tomb that helped the team come to their conclusion — including fragments of vessels that identified Thutmose II as the “deceased king,” the Daily Mail reported.
The tomb itself is said to be in bad shape, thanks to nearly equally ancient flooding — not long after the king’s death.
The finding is said to be one of the most important archeological finds in recent history — helping the world to understand more about the region’s heritage and Thutmose II’s reign.
Dr. Piers Litherland, representing the British members of the team, said the the work was ongoing — next up, they’ll look for addition contents from the tomb that may have been moved, which may help to unlock additional secrets that have been underground for centuries.
Meanwhile, last year, hieroglyphic-inscribed rock carvings of several significant pharaohs — including an ancestor of King Tutankhamun — were discovered at the bottom of the Nile River.
The find provided “new historical information” on their legendary rules over several eras, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said at the time.
