The discovery of Thutmose II’s tomb final week — the primary burial of an historic Egyptian pharaoh to be found inside or close to the Valley of the Kings since King Tutankhamun‘s tomb was present in 1922 — has left many unanswered questions.
In contrast to dozens of early pharaohs who had been buried in or round pyramids or later pharaohs who had been interred on the Valley of the Kings, Thutmose II’s tomb is by itself, greater than 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) to the west of the Valley of the Kings. And since this tomb was flooded shortly after Thutmose II’s burial, his mummy and nearly all of his grave items had been eliminated by historic officers and positioned elsewhere — however their final location is a thriller.
One more puzzle is why Thutmose II’s spouse and half sister, Hatshepsut — who later grew to become pharaoh and was arguably the primary historic Egyptian ruler to be buried on the Valley of the Kings — selected to inter her husband elsewhere.
However the thriller archaeologists might resolve first is one that’s looming in entrance of them: whether or not an enormous mound of rubble close to Thutmose II’s newly found tomb accommodates a hid second tomb that holds the mum of Thutmose II.
If there’s a second tomb there then “this second tomb is more likely to be full and undisturbed,” Piers Litherland, an Egyptologist on the College of Cambridge and co-leader of the staff that discovered the tomb, advised Stay Science in an e mail.
Why wasn’t Thutmose II buried within the valley?
Archaeologists initially discovered the tomb in October 2022, but it surely wasn’t till a latest evaluation of one among its grave items that they linked it to Thutmose II, who dominated round 3,500 years in the past. The artifact, a big alabaster ointment jar, has an inscription that claims it was Hatshepsut who had Thutmose II buried in that location.
A translation of the inscription reads, “The god’s spouse the good chief spouse Hatshepsut made this monument for her brother the proper god the lord of the Two Lands [Thutmose II] given life enduringly the beloved Osiris,” Litherland mentioned.
Zahi Hawass, a former minister of antiquities who shouldn’t be a member of the analysis staff however studied the inscription, mentioned it is nonetheless unclear why Hatshepsut had Thutmose II buried on this space, which is now generally known as Wadi Gabbanat El Qurud.
It is “a query why she buried him right here and she or he constructed her [tomb] within the Valley of the Kings,” Hawass advised Stay Science in an e mail. “It is rather unusual for her to bury him on this [area] that she and different kings didn’t use.”
Whereas Hatshepsut might have overseen the burial, it was possible Thutmose II himself who had his tomb constructed at this location, mentioned Aidan Dodson, an Egyptology professor on the College of Bristol who shouldn’t be concerned with the excavation. He famous that “presently the Valley of the Kings had not been adopted as the usual burial place” for Egyptian pharaohs.
It seems that Hatshepsut initially deliberate to be buried not removed from Thutmose II. Dodson famous that there’s a tomb situated about 1,640 ft (500 meters) from Thutmose II’s tomb that was constructed for Hatshepsut however was not utilized by her. The tomb was uncompleted, however has inscriptions indicating that it was constructed for her. “She solely moved to the Valley of the Kings [when] she grew to become [a] feminine pharaoh, seven years after her husband’s demise,” Dodson mentioned.
Litherland mentioned tombs of different royal members of the family have been present in Wadi Gabbanat El Qurud and that tombs of different pharaohs could also be within the space however have not been recognized.
Homosexual Robins, a professor emerita of artwork historical past at Emory College who shouldn’t be concerned with the dig, advised Stay Science that “Hatshepsut appears to be the primary king to attach her burial with the placement we now name the Valley of the Kings, so there may be nothing odd about Thutmose II not being buried there.”
The truth that Hatshepsut had Thutmose II buried away from her might lead one to invest whether or not she disliked him; nevertheless there is no such thing as a proof for this, in keeping with Filip Taterka, an Egyptology professor on the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
“We all know that Hatshepsut didn’t persecute the reminiscence of Thutmose II in any manner, fairly on the contrary, she not solely supplied him with a burial — because the inscription from the vase talked about above demonstrates — but in addition order[ed] to assemble a funerary temple for him, as a way to safe his funerary cult,” Taterka advised Stay Science in an e mail.
Does Thutmose II have a second tomb close by?
One other query the tomb discovery raises is whether or not Thutmose II has a second, undiscovered tomb close by. The newfound tomb was largely empty; archaeologists discovered that the mum and many of the grave items had been moved after the tomb flooded shortly after Thutmose II was buried.
Litherland advised Stay Science that the staff is at present excavating a close-by mound that accommodates a pile of limestone and rubble. “We’ve got cause to consider it was constructed to hide one thing and that one thing is more likely to be an vital tomb,” Litherland mentioned. The pile is about 75.5 ft (23 m) tall, and it will have taken “huge effort and expense” to put a lot rubble there, he added.
Litherland estimates it should take greater than a month to excavate the mound and discover out what lies beneath. “We do not, and may’t, know that the second tomb of Thutmose II is there however there are indicators which level suggestively in that path,” Litherland mentioned. “Solely [by] excavating the mound can we discover out.”
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