2024-03-26 20:34:01
The joint Egyptian-American archaeological mission between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the University of Colorado announced the success of uncovering the upper part of a huge statue of King Ramses II, during the excavations conducted by the mission in the region.
Al-Ahram Gate website quoted Dr. Bassem Jihad, head of the mission from the Egyptian side, as saying that the discovered part is made of limestone and is about 3.80 meters high. It depicts King Ramesses II sitting wearing a double crown and a headdress topped with a royal cobra.
The upper part of the statue’s back column also appears with hieroglyphic writings of titles to glorify the king, indicating that the height of the statue when its lower part is installed may reach about 7 meters.
While Dr. Yovonna Trnka, head of the mission from the American side, indicated that the mission had succeeded during its first excavation season in the region in restoring and reinstalling the huge granite columns located on the northern side of the Ashmunin Basilica, which were built over the ruins of the Ptolemaic Temple, in dedication to the Virgin Mary, during 6th century AD.
The city of Ashmunin was known in ancient Egypt as Khemnu, meaning the City of the Eight, as it was the seat of the Egyptian cult of Thamun. It was known in the Greco-Roman era as Hermopolis Magna, and it was a center for the worship of the god Djehuti and the capital of the fifteenth region.
Dr. Mustafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the archaeological study conducted on the discovered upper part of the statue proved that it was a continuation of the lower part that was discovered in 1930.
Last updated: March 4, 2024 – 16:04
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2024-03-26 20:34:01