Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed part of a 3,000-year-old granite double statue of the pharaoh Amenhotep III, believed to be the grandfather of the young King Tutankhamun. The statue has been excavated at Kom El-Hittan on the west bank of Luxor.
"The statue is one of the best new finds in the area because of its expert craftsmanship, which reflect the skills of the ancient Egyptian artisans," Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), announced on his website.
The statue was discovered during a routine excavation by SCA archaeologists.
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. The statue depicts Amenhotep III seated on a throne accompanied by the – now headless – Theban god, Amun. The newly discovered statue of Amenhotep III is 130 cm tall and 95 cm wide.
Amenhotep III ruled Egypt between 1390 and 1352 BC. He was almost certainly the grandfather of Tutankhamun, according to the results of DNA tests and CT scans on the famed boy king's mummy announced by scientists earlier this year.
Amenhotep III is reckoned to have been one of the wealthiest and most powerful of all the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. His funerary temple at Luxor measured 700 metres by 500 metres, making it one of the largest monuments in ancient Egypt. Many statues depicting the ancient Egyptian ruler have been found at the site, featuring him alongside deities such as Amun-Re, Re-Horakhti, Bastet and Sobek.
