Egypt: Ancient Pharaoh Statues Found in Cairo Suburb
Newsweek Conor Gaffey NewsweekMarch 10, 2017 Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed two ancient statues, believed to be more than 3,000 years old, in a muddy pit between dilapidated apartment blocks in the capital Cairo.
A team of Egyptian and German scientists found the relics in what was once the site of Heliopolis, one of the oldest cities in ancient Egypt and a religious hub that was occupied since at least 3100 B.C. It is now a suburb in northeastern Cairo.
One of the statues is 8 meters long and carved in quartzite, a hard rock made mostly from quartz crystals, according to Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities, which announced the discovery Thursday. The statue could not be identified as there were no engravings on the rock, but it was found at the entrance to a temple of King Ramses II, suggesting it may be of him.
Egypt Ramses II discoveryView photos Egypt Ramses II discovery More El-Matariya residents rest against what appears to be the head of an unearthed statue that workers say depicts Pharaoh Ramses II, in Cairo, Egypt, March 9. Egyptian and German archaeologists have discovered relics believed to be more than 3,000 years old. Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters
Ramses ruled during the 13th century B.C. and is one of the most celebrated of the pharaohs. He expanded the Egyptian empire into modern-day Syria, and conducted an extensive building program of temples, monuments and statues.
The statue actually consists of several parts: a bust, the lower part of a head and the upper part of a head, including a right ear and a fragment of the right eye, Egyptian Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani told Reuters at the site of the discovery Thursday.
The other statue is an 80-centimeter bust of King Seti II, who was Ramses II’s grandson, carved in limestone. The relic was detailed with “fine facial features,” according to the ministry.
The discovery was made in Cairo’s el-Matariya district, which is where ancient Egyptians believed that the world was created according to pharaonic belief, said Dietrich Raue, the head of the German expedition. “That means that every king had to build here, make statues, temples, obelisks, everything,” Raue told Reuters.
Egypt relic discoveredView photos Egypt relic discovered More A statue workers say depicts Pharaoh Ramses II who ruled Egypt over 3,000 years was unearthed Thursday in the el-Matariya area in Cairo, Egypt, March 9. Egypt's antiquities ministry hailed the relics as one of the most important discoveries ever. Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters
Submerged in groundwater, the relics were found near the ruins of an ancient sun temple founded by Ramses II. The head of the Egyptian archaeological team, Aymen Ashmawy, described the discovery as “very important,” and the antiquities minister announced that the statue thought to be Ramses II would be transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum for restoration and display. The museum is due to open in 2018 and will be one of the largest archaeological museums in the world.
Mena: There are artifacts everywhere in Egypt because new cities were build on top of Old cities. Sometime citizens will organize there own secret archeological digging to look for artifacts that they secretly sale for hundred of thousand of dollars to the underground World art market.
Posts: 5374 | From: sepedat/sirius | Registered: Jul 2012
| IP: Logged |
Mena: This statue is not the statue of Pharaoh Ramses II but the statue of the Pharaoh Psamtek who ruled 600 years after Ramses II. Egypt was so old in Ancient time that a Pharaoh reigned 600 years after a Pharaoh. The USA the most powerful nation on planet earth is only 238 yeears old. Psamtek was a Pharaoh with a heavy Black people phenotype.
Pharaoh Psamtek 1
A massive statue recently unearthed in Cairo and thought to depict one of the country's most famous pharaohs may be of another ancient Egyptian ruler, the country's antiquities minister said Thursday.
Khaled el-Anani said the colossus discovered last week in a Cairo suburb by an Egyptian-German team almost certainly depicts Psamtek I, a little known pharaoh from the 26th dynasty who ruled Egypt between 664 and 610 B.C.
"We are not going to be categorical, but there is a strong possibility that it's of Psamtek I," el-Anani told reporters in the front yard of the famed Egyptian museum in the heart of Cairo.
Sitting just meters (yards) away were parts of the statue, including the torso and a partial head, which were ferried across the city before dawn on Thursday. The statue was thought to be of Ramses II, who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.
"There is a possibility, albeit small, that Psamtek I reused an older statue that may be of Ramses II," el-Anani said.
Psamtek I, credited for bringing stability to Egypt after years of turmoil, ruled some 600 years after Ramses II and sat on Egypt's throne for about 50 years. Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great, ruled for around 60 years.
The discovery of the quartzite statue has offered a piece of welcome news at a time when most of Egypt's 92 million people are struggling to make ends meet amid an economic crisis. The tourism industry has yet to recover from the years of unrest following the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
Egyptian officials appeared keen to bring international attention to the find.
The press conference called to clarify the statue's identity was held at the Egyptian museum, which houses the world's largest collection of pharaonic artifacts, and was attended by senior government officials and diplomats.
El-Anani allowed the anticipation to build, delivering his remarks after four archaeologists and restoration experts spoke.
He said the size of the statue — with an estimated height of some 9 meters (26 feet) and a weight of seven tons — was typical of Ramses II's era, but that hieroglyphs discovered at the statue's back-pillar after it was unearthed showed that it was of Psamtek I.
"We will not be 100 percent certain that it is of Psamtek I, but give us days, weeks or months and we will be certain," he said.
For now, said the Egyptian museum's chief of restoration, Moamen Othman, the challenge is to prepare the statue to survive in an environment different from the one in which it was submerged: Water and mud.
"It's important that we study the process of environmental adjustment for the statue. It will take three months to do."
The statue will eventually be displayed at the yet-to-open Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza Pyramids.
Posts: 5374 | From: sepedat/sirius | Registered: Jul 2012
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic