The statues of the Pharaoh are over 3,400 years old. Archaeologist Zahi Hawass returned from the excavation site to announce the new discovery in the sands of Kom Hitan in Luxor, 700 kilometers south of Cairo in Egypt. This is said to be the largest discovery in recent years.
The two discovered statues are described to be in good state and will be transferred to the museum in the region.
According to Hawass, director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt, archaeologists found the two statues while working on clearing activity at the front entrance of a temple of Amenhotep II that was destroyed in ancient times by an earthquake. It was the largest temple in Egypt in its day.
One of the statues is of black granite and shows the pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty seated and attired in full royal regalia. The second statue is of quartz and is depicted as a sphinx with a human head and body of a lion.
Amenhotep III’s reign coincided with a time of renaissance in the arts. He fathered a son Akhenaten who, together with his wife Nefertiti, spearheaded a religious revolution that established monotheism in which the Sun was the only god.
Via ABC News
