During excavation work carried out in the Western Valley of the Theban Mountains on the West Bank of the Nile at Luxor, a joint Egyptian-British archaeological mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and the New Kingdom Research Foundation uncovered a New Kingdom royal tomb located in Valley C, one of the western valleys just below the so-called Neferure cliff-tomb.

Mustafa Waziri, secretary-general of the SCA, said that examination of the ceramics and fragmentary inscriptional evidence found showed that the tomb could belong to several members of the royal family of the Thutmosid period of the 18th Dynasty.

Further study would shed more light on the secrets of the hitherto unknown tomb and its architecture and design, he added, saying that only a rock cut staircase, two corridors, and one partly painted chamber have been uncovered.

Piers Litherland, head of the mission from the British side, said that studies indicated that the tomb had been badly damaged by flooding that had occurred in antiquity and that had almost completely blocked the tomb with debris. Many months will be needed for more investigation, he said.

The Thutmosid period includes several renowned Pharaohs of ancient Egypt, including queen Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep II, and Tutankhamun. During their reign, the territory of Egypt was expanded and monumental architectural projects such as temples, tombs, and statues were built and the arts, literature and religion extended.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 19 January, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.