Mummy of Thutmose II

The mummy of Thutmose II was presumably violated by tomb robbers. Therefore it was moved to the Deir el-Bahari Cachette (DB320), where it was rewrapped and restored. The king, like the other kings, has his hands crossed over his chest, in an Osirian pose that continued to be followed in mummies of kings for many generations. X-ray analysis shows that he died in his early thirties.

Scabrous patches, rather than a disease, covered his skin, perhaps because of the embalming process. His right leg was completely broken away from the body. Unlike the other royal mummies, his fingers and toe nails were trimmed and clean.

Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I and Mutnofret. He succeeded his father and married his half-sister Hatshepsut. Except for a military campaign against Nubia, little is known of his reign, which lasted for about ten years.

While he successfully put down rebellions in Nubia and the Levant and defeated a group of nomadic Bedouins, these campaigns were specifically carried out by the king’s Generals, and not by Thutmose II himself.

The tomb, belonging to Thutmose II was unearthed by a British-Egyptian team led by Dr. Piers Litherland of Galashiels, Scotland. The grandeur of the burial site was immediately evident, with a vast staircase and an imposing descending corridor signalling the tomb’s royal significance.

The precise circumstances surrounding the death of Thutmose II remain shrouded in mystery, though it is widely believed that he perished not by battle or nefarious circumstance, but likely by natural causes and disease. His reign was brief, and evidence suggests he was of frail constitution, possibly plagued by a lingering illness that drained his vitality.

Definitive proof of Thutmose II’s burial came in the form of alabaster jar fragments inscribed with his name and that of Hatshepsut, marking the first objects ever linked to his interment. However, Dr. Litherland’s team theorizes that the tomb may have been flooded approximately six years after the burial, possibly prompting the relocation of its contents. The researchers believe they have identified a likely site for this secondary tomb, which may still contain untouched treasures.

New Kingdom, mid 18th Dynasty, reign of Thutmose II, ca. 1482-1479 BC. Now in the Egyptian Museum of National Civilization (NMEC), Cairo. JE 26212