Egypt extracts torso of ‘Pharaoh Ramses II’ statue from mud

March 14, 2017 Chigozie Ekwenye Africa, Egypt, Hot News 0

The torso of a huge statue, possibly 3,000 years old, has been lifted from the ground in Egypt. It could depict a famous pharaoh.

The statue’s giant head and other fragments were extracted from the same site last week.

The relics were found in the north-east of Cairo, close to the temple of Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great, and experts believe it may represent him.

Egyptians look on as a crane lifts parts of a statue for restoration after it was unearthed at Souq al-Khamis district, at al-Matareya area, Cairo, Egypt, 13 March 2017Image copyrightEPA
Image captionPart of the torso was hauled out from deep muddy groundwater using a crane on Monday
Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionThe Ministry of Antiquities said the statue’s parts would be moved and assembled at the Egyptian museum in central Cairo. It’s hoped that it will be possible to put the two large pieces together.
Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionThe figure is made out of quarzite
Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionResidents close to where the statue was found cheer its excavation – one leading Egyptologist said if it proved to be original, rather than a later reworking to resemble Ramses II, it would prove to be a significant find
Image copyrightEPA
Image captionFound last week by an Egyptian-German archaeological team, the statue weighs three tonnes – excavation will finish on Tuesday

Source – BBC

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