3,000-year-old double statue of Pharaoh Amenhotep III discovered at his funerary temple in Luxor

Submitted by Ann on Sat, 10/02/2010 - 18:17

Double statue of Amenhotep III and Amun in situ at his funerary temple at Kom el-Hittan near Luxor. Photo courtesy the SCA A 3,000-year-old double ~~limestone~~ granite statue of pharaoh Amenhotep III is discovered near Luxor, Egypt.

The statue was found at Kom el-Hittan, at the northern entrance of the funerary temple of Amenhotep III – once one of the largest temples on the west bank of the Nile.

Egypt's Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, said that the statue depicts Amenhotep III seated on a throne accompanied by the – now headless – Theban god, Amun.

The 18th Dynasty pharaoh – who ruled from about 1410 to 1372 BC – wears the double crown of Egypt, which is decorated with a uraeus.

Mr. Abdel Ghaffar, director of the excavations, said that the newly discovered statue of Amenhotep III is 130 cm tall and 95 cm wide.

So far, the upper part of the double limestone statue – found during routine excavations supervised by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) – has been unearthed.

The statue depicts 18th Dynasty Pharoah Amenhotep III, believed to have been the grandfather of King Tutankhamun. - Photo courtesy the SCA Excavations are now focusing on revealing the rest of the statue.

Amenhotep III is thought to have been the wealthiest and most powerful of all the pharaohs of ancient Egypt – as well as King Tut’s grandfather.

His funerary temple at Luxor measured some 700 meters by 500 meters, making it one of the largest monuments in Egypt – and even the ancient world.

The sanctuary is best known for the massive statues at the its eastern entrance – the ‘Colossi of Memnon’ massive.

Many statues depicting the ancient Egyptian ruler have been found at the site, featuring him alongside different deities, such as Amun-Re, Re-Horakhti, Bastet and Sobek.

The double limestone statue is the second of its kind found in the area – a previously excavated, similar statue shows the king seated beside the solar god, Re-Horakhti.

Earlier this year, the same team excavated a statue of the god of wisdom, Thoth, depicted as a baboon, as well as what is possibly the best preserved depiction of Amenhotep III’s face found to date – a colossal 2,5 meters granite head.

Antiquities tsar Zahi Hawass sait it is very well possible that a large cache for King Amenhotep III’s statuary may have been buried in the area - and that many more will be discovered still.

Click To Watch Video

The Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III (Featuring Dr. Hourig Sourouzian)

Dr Hourig Sourouzian explains the excavations and work being carried out at the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, a mortuary monument ten times bigger than any otherin Egypt.

CLICK TO WATCH

The excavations are part of intensive investigation and restoration works at Amenhotep III's funerary monument – which are expected to take upwards of 20 years (to see an inverview with Dr Sourouzian about this daunting task, go here or click the video icon on the right).

The final stage of the works at Amenhotep III's mortuary temple will be the creation of an open-air museum.

Read 8 comments, or leave your own

About The Author

Ann Wuyts (follow me: e-mail or

)

Last three pieces by this author:

Unique Iron Age Hoard goes on display at Ipswich Museum | Royal Artefacts - Including King Tut's Golden Trumpet - Returned to Egyptian Museum Cairo | SCA releases full list of treasures missing from the Cairo Museum

Ann 'Vint' Wuyts (on Google+) is looking after the Heritage Key community and avatar health & entertainment. She is slightly fascinated by everything to do with 3D technology and what's commonly defined as 'Web 2.0'. When she grows up, Ann - eventually - wants to be a mummy. Favourite game: Buzzword…

Comments

Francesca:

Do you have a link to the original press release? Or some other outside source for this find? Thanks.

Sun, 03-10-2010 14:31

Ann:

Word and pdf files titles 'new discovery' in my email (which were send out with all the 'recipients' in CC, quite lovely to see who else was on the list. :p) when I wrote this. But by it should be up on drhawass.com as well.

Mon, 04-10-2010 10:16

Kenneth DK:

Interesting find. Is granite a native rock in egypt? "Tsar" should be Mr. Hawass' title from now on :-)

Fri, 08-10-2010 07:34

farang:

Let me ask a question: why is Amenhotep's name spelled "Amen", yet the god's name he is named after spelled "Amun?" Anyone? Does that make ANY sense?? No, it in fact raises questions. Who makes that call?

Let's see what we can discover, shall we? Everyone know what a "contraction" is? Good. Contadict this " Peace of Amen (Amun)" in the ancient tongue. Peace= Salim. Or Salem. What were cities called? Ur's. Ur meant "City."

Let's contract Ur and Salem, shall we? What do we have? Ursalem. The CITY of PEACE. That was THEBES. Where AmEn was god. The guy the modern followers of the ancient Egyptian Resurrection religion still call out for at the end of their prayers. And the pharaoh there was this guy, Amenhotep III. Great grandson of Thutmosee III. "(David.")

Hotep= "Comes in Peace." So Amenhotep meant "Amen comes in peace."

Now lastly...we had Salim, or salem = peace. Now what LABEL would the ancients place on a "king of peace" ruling a a city named "Peace?" Does the "Peace of Amen" sound ...feasible? Yes, it certainly does.

So what would Amenhotep III's TITLE BE? Solomon. Salim-Amen /Salem-amun contracted = Solomon. Many rulers had this title back then, not just Egyptian, either.

You like Wikipedia Ann? Go look at the reign of Amenhotep III's, and the alleged reign of "Solomon"...yikes, they are the exact same. Good read there: you may see, if you open eyes and are willing to learn...who "Sheba" really was...if you can "read between the lines" of the excerpt of the "Armana Letter" from King Tushratta to Amenhotep III..."she" was Sauska/Ishtar, a STATUE sent by the Hittite king to Amenhotep III (who Tushratta called "Nimmureya"), and anyone with ANY linguistic skills can decipher that name. Amenhotep III was a RE/YA king. A Ya King. Figure it out.

Is that not "odd", that this area of Philistia/Palesitine/"Israel", ALWAYS under the absolute authority of AmenhotepIII was ALSO "king Solomon's vast kingdom?" Funny they never ran into each other, ain't it? At the EXACT SAME TIME and PLACE.

And that Amenhotep III had GOLD MINES one can still visit? (Timna) Had a navy that brought back cedar and myrhh BACK TO EGYPT FROM PUNT?

Open eyes....not that hard to do....why ELSE is NOTHING FOUND of any "David or Solomon" in the SECOND "Jerusalem?" Nothing, , Nada, Bupkis.

Yet the sands are full of the REAL, not the myth. He is the real: the bible states "god" was displeased with "Solomon" because at the end of his life, he turned back to the "pagan" ways. That "Solomon denied himself no pleasures." Nether did his "alterego" Amenhotep III.

Go look at the depictions of Amenhotep III's dancers, his 300 wives. Read how it was Amenhotep III that FIRST called HIMSELF THE ATEN. That's right, he was Moses' (Akhenaton/Amenhotep IV's) father. It was THIS guy Ahkenaton was honoring, that pissed off his people. Stated clearly: The "Aten" was a depiction of AMENHOTEP III.

That's all I feel like telling you today. Ignore it, please: I enjoy reading the comedy produced from the "higher learning" crowd. But if I was religious, and really belived there had been a "Solomon"? I'd be damn pleased to know he was a real person...just not what the myth written @ 800-900 years later twisted it to be.

Amazing: here IS "Solomon"...and every "religious" person denies it. Hahahaha! But "Believes" in some myth of "Israel" which didn't even exist then.

Wed, 13-10-2010 04:26

Daniela Vrasinec:

awwwww very nice discovery!

Wed, 13-10-2010 05:04

janis:

<p>Wikipedia you like Ann? Go look at the reign of Amenhotep III, and the rule of presumed "Salomon" ... Ouch, these are exactly the same. Good reading here: you can see, if you open your eyes and are willing to learn ... as "Saba" was really ... if you can "read between the lines" of excerpts from "Letter Armana" of King Amenhotep III Tushratta ... "She" was Sauska / Ishtar, the statue of the Hittite king sent to Amenhotep III (Tushratta called "Nimmureya") and anyone with any language skills can decipher the name. Amenhotep III was a king of RE / YA. A king Ya. Check it out.<br />
 </p>
<table width="64" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
<colgroup><col width="64" /> </colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr height="17">
<td width="64" height="17" class="xl24" style="height:12.75pt;width:48pt"><a href="http://www.elistingz.com">Web Directory</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>

Tue, 09-08-2011 05:56

Minepedia Crafting:

Thank you for your sharing.

Tue, 23-08-2011 15:54

alfi Pulauweb:

amazing...

Fri, 07-10-2011 17:06

Interesting Articles And Blog Posts

ArchaeoVideo - Saving Pharaoh Amenhotep III's Funerary Temple at Thebes

The Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III was the biggest and boldest funerary monument of its age, and reflected the immense stature of Egypt's most powerful king. Dr Hourig Sourouzian talks saving its ruins from the ravages of history.

Statue of ancient Egyptian god Thoth Discovered at Amenhotep III's Mortuary Temple

Archaeologists have discovered a colossal statue of the ancient Egyptian god Thoth at the north-western side of King Amenhotep III's funerary temple at Luxor. The red granite statue depicting Thoth, the…

Interesting Publications