Ancient Egypt is home to some of the most significant archaeological findings in the world. The most important finding came in 1922, when Howard Carter discovered the intact tomb of Tutankhamun, the boy king who died young but left behind a treasure trove largely protected from looters by a coating of debris, according to Britannica. While it’s difficult to know for sure, it’s been estimated that his treasures were worth nearly a billion dollars in today’s money.
Two decades later, a French archeologist by the name of Pierre Montet unearthed what’s known as the Silver Pharaoh. The tomb of Psusennes I, who lived between 1047 and 998 B.C.E., was one of the first tombs to be found that had been mostly undisturbed. The pharaoh’s inner coffin, made of solid silver, was found nearly untouched 3,000 years later.
And in 2025, another important tomb finding was made with the unearthing of the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II. While the tomb contained no treasure, the discovery fills an important gap in the first half of the 15th century B.C.E. Thutmose II is often overshadowed by his half-sister Hatshepsut, a well-known female pharaoh, according to Britannica.
However, these findings offer us only so many clues about ancient Egypt’s past. There are still many mysteries left to solve.
Explore All OptionsThe Mysteries That Remain Unsolved
While the findings of ancient Egypt are many, much of life from the civilization that began around 5,000 years ago remains unknown, according to Aidan Dodson, an Egyptologist at the University of Bristol.
For example, there’s the First Intermediate Period from 2181 – 2055 B.C.E., when Egypt was largely in chaos and stronger pharaohs with longer reigns were uncommon.
“We’re not even completely sure whether or not the kings during this period had tombs or whether they lost a civil war and ended up in a ditch somewhere,” Dodson said to Discover.
And then there’s the Second Intermediate Period (around 1650 –1550 B.C.E.), when there were upwards of 100 kings but only around 20 unfinished pyramids. This tells us they were still building them, but most pharaohs didn’t live long enough for their pyramids to be started, let alone finished. These tombs tell a story of a period of volatility and high turnover among pharaohs.
Additionally, from around 1000 B.C.E. onward, the power of ancient Egypt shifted to the Nile delta, where many tombs will never be found because of high water tables and massive Roman overbuilding.
“We’ve got a good suspicion that these are totally destroyed and likely lost forever,” Dodson said to Discover.
Mysteries that Remain from Our Favorite Pharaohs
Then there are the leaders we already know something about but can’t wait to learn more about. Nefertiti, for example, lived from 1370-1330 B.C.E. She was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt and the great royal wife to Pharaoh Akhenaten.
We know her best from the bust of Nefertiti at the Berlin State Museum. Egyptologist and architectural historian Ludwig Borchardt found the bust in 1912. Many Egyptologists accept that she transitioned from queen to king and ruled as such.
But while we think Nefertiti was likely king by the time she died, we still don’t know what world she came from. What was her family background? Researchers know that she was not a princess, but rather, a commoner of sorts. But that’s the extent of their knowledge.
Additionally, researchers have found a mummy which they think could be hers in a large chamber behind a concealed door in the tomb of King Tutankhamun, who may or may not have been her son. Though this remains unverified.
Then there’s the mystery of Hatshepsut, who ruled during the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was a regent who elevated herself to co-ruler with Thutmose III and ruled as a pharaoh for around 14 years before her death.
She seemed to reign successfully, but her statues and other remnants were destroyed two decades after her death. Some historians contend that Thutmose III destroyed the statues, but we don’t know for sure, according to the Met.
And Where is Cleopatra?
And perhaps the most famous leader, Cleopatra VII, ruled Egypt from 51 to 30 B.C.E. and led the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the Greek-ruled state of Egypt. The location of Cleopatra and her lover Mark Antony’s tombs is indeed one of the most famous remaining mysteries.
After Mark Antony lost the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.E. to Octavian, both he and Cleopatra died by suicide. This was also considered the beginning of the Roman Empire, when Octavian, who would become Emperor Augustus, consolidated power over Egypt.
There’s a lot we don’t yet know about ancient Egypt, but one thing we know for sure is that we’ve hardly scratched the surface.
“Contrary to what people seem to think, the number of things that we can actually say we know for certain about ancient Egypt is very few,” Dodson told Discover.
Read More: A Mummified Dog and Stacked Bodies Reveal a Crowded Egyptian Tomb’s Hidden Order
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from Britannica: Howard Carter
- This article references information from Britannica: Thutmose II
- This article references information from the Berlin State Museum: Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung
- This article references information from the Berlin State Museum: Discovery and Partage
- This article references information from the book The Burial of Nefertiti? by Nicholas Reeves
- This article references information from the Met: Queen Hatshepsut Restored
- This article references information from Cornell University: Historian delves into the battle that shaped the Roman Empire
