Archaeology & History

Two giant pharaoh statues unveiled in Egypt

By T.K. Randall
March 26, 2014

Image: Riding a Camel Across Egypt
Credit: Adelbayoumi / CC BY-SA 4.0 (adapted) Amenhotep was a prominent ruler in ancient Egypt who controlled a vast empire covering the regions between modern day Iraq and Sudan. Having become the empire's ruler at the age of just 12, the celebrated pharaoh was memorialized with several impressive colossi.Now a team of archaeologists has meticulously restored two more of the statues so that they can be put on public display. At 11m in height, one of the colossi weighs up to 250 tons but is missing a double crown piece that would have seen it weigh as much as 450 tons.

The two restored statues have now joined the two pre-existing 3,400-year-old Colossi of Memnon statues at the funerary temple of the King where they would have been originally located during ancient times.

Source: Russia Today

Tags: Amenhotep, Egypt, Luxor