Amenhotep III statue unearthed in Egypt
A sculpture of the head of Amenhotep III is displayed at the opening of a new exhibition at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo on April, 7, 2010.
An enormous statue of a powerful Egyptian pharaoh, Amenhotep III, was unearthed in the southern city of Luxor, Egyptian authorities announced Tuesday.
This is one of the largest statues found to date of the pharaoh, who is King Tutankhamun's grandfather, the Associated Press reports.
The 42-foot tall statue was one of a pair that stood at the northern entrance to a 3,400-year-old funerary temple on the west bank of the Nile, it states. The temple was damaged by a major earthquake in 27 BC.
The area is now undergoing a major excavation.
The statue, which is still missing a head, is made up of seven large quartzite blocks. It was first discovered in 1928 and then rehidden, according to Egypt’s antiquities agency.
It was found along with a statue of the goddess Sekhmet and one of the god Thoth.
Archeologists hope to find a twin of the statue soon.
Amenhotep III ruled in the 14th century BC.
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