An Evening with Piers Litherland

About the Speaker

Piers made international headlines in 2025 with the discovery of the lost tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II in Luxor’s Western Wadis—the first royal tomb found in the Theban necropolis since Tutankhamun in 1922.  Discovered in 2022, the tomb was badly damaged by flooding shortly after burial. Evidence suggests its contents—and possibly the missing body of Thutmose II—were relocated nearby by the royal architect Ineni.

Field Director and Mission Head, the New Kingdom Research Foundation Mission to the Western Wadis 2014-2026

2007 Founder of the New Kingdom Research Foundation (NKRF: directors Professor Geoffrey Martin, Dr Mohsen Kamel, Nigel McGilchrist, Dr Judith Bunbury)

2012 NKRF research into Chisel Marks in the Valley of the Kings. 2013-2014 Joint Field Director: Cambridge Expedition to the Valley of the Kings and NKRF Mission to the Western Wadis.

2014-2026 Field Director and Mission Head NKRF Mission to the Western Wadis (affiliated to the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge University).

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Piers will be updating us on his work in the Western Wadis during the 2025/26 season and work to date on the 2026/27 season insofar as he is able to do so.  Note that he may be restricted by the SCA in what he can tell us about the 2026/27 work.