It was when British archaeologist Piers Litherland saw that the ceiling of the burial chamber was painted blue with yellow stars that he realised he had just discovered the first rock-cut tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh to be found in more than a century.

Litherland had been exploring the western wadis near the Valley of the Kings in Egypt for more than a decade when he discovered a staircase that led to the tomb, now known to have belonged to Thutmose II, who reigned from 1493 to 1479BC.

It took months to clear flood debris from the descending corridor and during this time, he and his team assumed the tomb belonged to a royal wife.

But as soon as he saw the size and the ceiling of the burial chamber, which had been decorated with scenes from the Amduat, a religious text reserved for kings - he knew he had made what has since been hailed as the most significant discovery since Tutankhamun.