Archeologists Find Ramses II's Colossus
The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities hailed the excavation of a giant 3,000-year-old statue of Ramses II as "one of [its] most important archaeological discoveries." A joint German-Egyptian research team found the colossus buried under a slum area in the eastern part of Cairo.
Also known as Ramses the Great, Ramses II is described by Reuters as "the most powerful and celebrated ruler of ancient Egypt." He was the third of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt and occupied the throne from 1279 to 1213 BCE. Other succeeding pharaohs referred to him as the "Great Ancestor."
Made of quartzite, the statue was found near the ruins of Ramses II's temple in the ancient city of Heliopolis, located in the neighborhood of Matariya. While it bears no inscriptions to identify it as the 19th-century king, antiquities minister Khaled al-Anani is convinced the statue is most likely his representation.
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This is because it was found near the gate of the temple founded by Ramses II, making him the most likely subject.
"On the discovered portions, there is no inscription found that would make it possible to determine which king it is," Anani posted on Facebook. "But its discovery in front of the gate of the temple of Pharaoh Ramses II suggests that it is likely him."
The team also found a section of a life-sized limestone statue of Ramses II's grandson Seti II measuring 80 centimeters long. Attempts to extract the remaining pieces of both statues are ongoing. If proven to depict Ramses II, the colossus will be placed at the entrance of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza which is due to open in 2018.
The ministry drew flak in social media for allegedly mishandling the artifacts with the use of an excavator. But Mahmoud Afifi, head of the ministry's Ancient Egyptian antiquities, told CNN that the head's sheer weight was a factor in utilizing heavy equipment machinery. He assured that the statue had not been damaged.
