Culture minister Farouk Hosni on Thursday said an Egyptian excavation team discovered two statues near the Amenhotep III Temple located in Luxor, Upper Egypt.
Zahi Hawwas, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), in a press statement said the two statues were dedicated to king Amenhotep III and God Hapi. Both were found north of the Amenhotep III temple while the excavation team was searching for ruins of the Mortuary Temple.
God Hapi’s statue was found with a monkey face 2.73 meters in height. It was made of pink granite, according to Hawwas. Part of Amenhotep III statue was also found, with face and foot heights of 23 and 30 centimeters respectively. Excavation efforts continue for the rest of the two statues. These discoveries are the first for king Amenhotep III with God Hapi, one of Horus’s four children.
The statues' stones were re-used in other temples. They may have been found by ancient Egyptians who gathered and placed them in this location so as to represent the king with the different gods of ancient Egypt, Hawwas explained.
