For over a century, the Valley of the Kings seemed to have surrendered all its secrets. The last major discovery, Howard Carter’s 1922 excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb, had become the defining image of Egyptian archaeology. Generations of scholars assumed the valley had nothing left to give. Then, in 2025, archaeologists unearthed the tomb of a pharaoh who had waited 3,500 years to be found: Thutmose II, the great-great-great-great-great grandfather of Tutankhamun himself.
The discovery challenges everything we thought we knew about both the Valley of the Kings and the reign of one of ancient Egypt’s most overlooked rulers. While Tutankhamun achieved immortality through the accident of his tomb’s survival, Thutmose II has been a historical footnote, overshadowed by his famous wife Hatshepsut and dismissed by scholars as a weak king who accomplished little. His tomb suggests a different story.
A Pharaoh in the Shadows
Thutmose II ruled Egypt for roughly 13 years during the 18th Dynasty, around 1493 to 1479 BCE. His reign fell during what Egyptologists call the New Kingdom, a golden age of Egyptian power when pharaohs commanded vast armies and built monuments that still stand today. Yet Thutmose II left behind relatively few monuments, and those he did construct were often later usurped by his successors.
The historical record paints him as perpetually eclipsed. His father, Thutmose I, was a warrior king who expanded Egypt’s borders. His wife, Hatshepsut, would become one of Egypt’s most powerful rulers, eventually declaring herself pharaoh and reigning for over two decades. His son, Thutmose III, would become Egypt’s Napoleon, conquering more territory than any pharaoh before or after.
Trapped between these towering figures, Thutmose II has been described by various historians as “sickly,” “undistinguished,” and “ephemeral.” Some scholars have even questioned whether he truly ruled at all, suggesting Hatshepsut wielded real power from the beginning. The discovery of his tomb offers a chance to reassess this portrait.
The Discovery
The tomb was found by a team of Egyptian archaeologists led by the country’s most famous Egyptologist, whose career has been defined by major discoveries at Saqqara and throughout the Nile Valley. The location surprised many experts. While the Valley of the Kings has been extensively mapped using ground-penetrating radar and other technologies, this tomb had escaped detection, concealed beneath debris from ancient flooding and later construction.
What makes this discovery particularly significant is that it represents the first pharaonic tomb found in the Valley of the Kings since Tutankhamun’s. Other discoveries have occurred in the intervening century, including caches of mummies and smaller tombs of nobles, but no actual pharaoh had been found since that November day in 1922 when Carter peered through a small hole and saw “wonderful things.”
The tomb’s location and design suggest it was carved during the early 18th Dynasty, consistent with Thutmose II’s reign. Inscriptions found within explicitly name him, removing any doubt about the tomb’s owner. However, the tomb had clearly been robbed in antiquity, likely during the periods of instability that followed the New Kingdom’s collapse.
What the Tomb Reveals
Despite the ancient robbery, significant artifacts and information survive. The tomb’s architecture provides insights into royal burial practices during the early New Kingdom, a period when the Valley of the Kings was just beginning to serve as the primary royal cemetery. Earlier pharaohs had been buried elsewhere, and the transition to the valley represented a major shift in Egyptian religious and political thinking.
The wall decorations, though damaged, preserve religious texts and imagery that help scholars understand 18th Dynasty beliefs about the afterlife. These differ in subtle but important ways from the decorations in later tombs, showing how Egyptian funerary religion evolved over the centuries.
Perhaps most intriguingly, some inscriptions may shed new light on Thutmose II’s actual accomplishments. While his above-ground monuments were often usurped by later rulers, tomb inscriptions were protected from such modification. If the texts can be fully deciphered and analyzed, they may reveal campaigns, building projects, or administrative achievements that history has forgotten.
The Hatshepsut Question
The discovery may also illuminate one of Egyptology’s most debated questions: the relationship between Thutmose II and Hatshepsut. Traditional interpretations held that Hatshepsut usurped power after her husband’s death, acting as regent for her stepson Thutmose III before declaring herself pharaoh. Some scholars have suggested the marriage was troubled or that Hatshepsut dominated her husband even during his lifetime.
But revisionist interpretations have challenged this narrative. Perhaps Hatshepsut’s rise to power was not usurpation but a logical continuation of royal policy. Perhaps Thutmose II himself designated her as successor, recognizing her competence. The tomb’s inscriptions, particularly any references to Hatshepsut or the royal succession, could provide crucial evidence for these debates.
The physical remains, if any survive, might also yield information. Thutmose II’s mummy was identified among a cache of royal mummies discovered in 1881, but that identification has been questioned. DNA analysis and other modern techniques could confirm whether the mummy matches remains in the tomb, potentially resolving long-standing questions about the pharaoh’s health and cause of death.
Why Royal Tombs Still Matter
The discovery arrives at a moment when Egyptology faces both unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges. New technologies, from DNA analysis to satellite imagery, are revealing secrets that earlier generations of archaeologists could never have accessed. At the same time, questions of ownership, repatriation, and the legacy of colonial-era archaeology have complicated the field’s relationship with its past.
Egypt has increasingly insisted that Egyptian archaeologists lead major excavations and that discoveries remain in the country. The Thutmose II discovery exemplifies this shift, with Egyptian researchers directing the project and the artifacts destined for Egyptian museums. This represents a significant change from the era when foreign expeditions routinely removed treasures to European and American institutions.
The tomb also reminds us why these discoveries matter beyond academic circles. Ancient Egypt continues to fascinate the global public in ways that few other ancient civilizations can match. The discovery generated international headlines, demonstrating that the appetite for Egyptian archaeology remains undiminished a century after Tutankhamun.
The Bigger Picture
The discovery of Thutmose II’s tomb is more than an archaeological triumph. It is a reminder that history’s forgotten figures often have stories worth telling. For too long, Thutmose II has been defined by what he was not: not a great conqueror like his son, not a transformative ruler like his wife, not a cultural icon like his descendant Tutankhamun. His tomb offers the chance to understand him on his own terms.
It also demonstrates that major discoveries remain possible even in the most thoroughly explored sites. The Valley of the Kings has been studied for centuries, yet it still held secrets. This should inspire humility among scholars who assume they know what there is to know, and excitement among those who wonder what else might be waiting beneath the sand.
The tomb’s full excavation and analysis will take years. Scholars will debate interpretations for decades. But already, the discovery has achieved something remarkable: it has brought a forgotten pharaoh back to life, if only in our imaginations. Thutmose II, who ruled Egypt 3,500 years ago and was overshadowed almost immediately by his more famous relatives, has finally had his moment in the light.
