An incredible discovery was just unearthed in Egypt that saw the tomb of Thutmose II revealed by British archaeologist, Dr. Piers Litherland. He spent more than a decade looking for this sacred site, according to The BBC. Twelve years on this quest, to be exact.

This was also the first tomb of a pharaoh to be found since King Tutankhamun’s more than a century ago in 1922. That makes this project groundbreaking—marking an “extraordinary moment for Egyptology” according to Litherland.

Even more impressive was the months before this massive find. Litherland and his team had to traverse some flooded corridors and spend far too long clearing out debris to make their way into the tomb. He described the corridor as being about 32 feet long and the need to crawl through the long passageway.

A small 40cm gap at the top was what stood between them and completing the mission. Ironically, they were doing all of this under the impression that on the other side was a tomb belonging to a royal wife, not that of the pharaoh from 1493 to 1479 BC.

Litherland told The BBC that they began to notice that what they thought was one thing, was actually a burial site for a ruler. That’s because they noticed blue-painted ceilings and yellow stars that were commonly used to signify a king’s tomb.

The First Egyptian Royal Tomb Since King Tut’s in 1922 Was Just Discovered

“The emotion of getting into these things is just one of extraordinary bewilderment because when you come across something you’re not expecting to find, it’s emotionally extremely turbulent really,” he told the outlet. Upon their grand entrance into the tomb, there were no remains found—that’s because his mummy had already been uncovered two centuries ago.

Thutmose II, who was the fourth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, famously was married to Queen Hatshepsut, who was one of the only female pharaohs. They were able to confirm this was where his mummified body was laid despite the absence of a sarcophagus because they found fragments of alabaster jars that had his and his wife’s name inscribed.

It’s believed that this was his original burial ground before he was moved elsewhere, likely because of an impending flood being that this was underneath a waterfall. All in all, this marks the 55th tomb that Litherland and his excavation team have discovered in the Theban Mountains.

This one, though, holds a special place in his heart being that it’s the first royal tomb they’ve come across.