A múmia de totemés II
He is the first king to be discovered in over 100 years since the famous Tutankhamon. “One of the most important archaeological discoveries of recent years,” says the Egyptian government.
He ruled about 3500 years ago, died in his 30s and his mummy was discovered in 1881, but his tomb was only found now, just over two kilometers west of the famous Vale dos Reis, Luxor, south from Egypt.
The Tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutemés 2 It is the first of a king to be discovered in over a century, after that of the king’s tomb Tutankhamon In 1922, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt this Wednesday.
It is “one of the most important archaeological discoveries of recent years,” says the Egyptian government.
Flooded, more safe
Tutemés 2
Better known for marrying Queen Hatshepsut, her half sister, and ruled during the 15th century AC, Temés II was not found, however, in the same conditions as King Tut, who, in turn, was intact and surrounded by of treasures.
The funeral, discovered by British and Egyptian researchers where the real and noble tombs of the new kingdom of ancient Egypt are, was awash Shortly after the death of Temés II, the fourth and, so far, the last missing king of the eighteenth Egyptian dynasty.
However, “the tomb was not stolen.” After flooding, all its content was replaced, during the antiquity, and “the funeral was completely removed”, including pieces of unpublished furniture from the king, confirmed the Egyptologist of the University of Cambridge and co-leader of the team responsible for the discovery, Piers Litherlandto the .
At 29 meters long, the tomb includes a funeral chamber with 5.3 by 5.2 by 3.4 meters.
The tomb was initially found in October 2022, exactly 100 years after the discovery of the last tomb of a pharaoh, but only in early 2025 the ceramics with the name of Temés II allowed to confirm its identity.
One of the ceramic fragments, an alabaster vase, contained nighta mineral composed of sodium carbonate and used in embalming to solidify the connection to Pharaoh, which “confirms that there was an initial burial in the grave,” said Litherland.
Among the recovered fragments are “Plaster remains with blue inscriptions, yellow stelar motifs and parts of the book of Amduata fundamental religious text associated with the actual tombs of ancient Egypt, ”says the ministry.
Archaeologists believe that some objects of grave may have been transferred to another tomb. A mummy revenue from Deir El-Bahari nearby was identified by some as Temés II, although his advanced age put in doubt this identification.
“I’m very skeptical”
The discovery aroused a lot of interest, but not all Egyptologists are convinced, namely the absence of other real tombs in the area.
Some argue that the location of the tomb outside the Reis Valley raises questions, namely because other real tombs have been found in the area.
“I am very skeptical and would need to see more details to support this identification,” said Thomas Schneider, professor of Egyptology and Studies of the Next East at the University of British Columbia, which points to the strongest possibility of Temés II was buried inside the interior of own valley. The tomb was discovered in an “surprising area for a king’s tomb”since there is no other burial of a pharaoh nearby, says the expert.
The debate remains lit: after all, who was the first pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings?
Since Tutmés II was the son of Tutmés I and that the newly discovered tomb is located west of the Valley, it is more likely that Hatshepsut was the first pharaoh buried in the Reis Valley, Filip Taterka, professor of Egyptology at the Institute of Cultures, said. Mediterranean and Oriental of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Although not well documented, it is known that Temés II has starred military campaigns in Nubia and the East Mediterranean. Yours short reignwhich possibly lasted less than five years, was followed by the rise of his wife Hatshepsut, who became one of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs.
Tutemés 2
Tomás Guimarães, Zap //
