Ancient statue to be pieced together

EGYPT: The three-tonne torso of a massive statue that may be of one of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs was lifted yesterday from mud and groundwater where it was recently discovered in a Cairo suburb.

The torso was lifted out by a crane, and dozens of workers supported it while it was moved to dry land, where it was covered by white fabric. The first part of the colossus - a large portion of the head - was pulled up last Friday.

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities said the statue’s parts would be restored and assembled at the Egyptian museum in central Cairo before being moved to the yet-toopen Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza Pyramids.

The statue is likely to be of Ramses II, who took the throne in his early 20s and ruled Egypt for 60 years more than 3000 years ago. It was discovered last week by a German-Egyptian archaeological team in the Cairo district of Matariya. -AP

PHOTOS: REUTERS A crowd watches as a crane raises the three-tonne torso of the statue, thought to be of revered Pharaoh Ramses II, from a flooded excavation pit in the Matariya suburb of Cairo.

An Egyptian worker prepares the ground as the torso is lowered on to dry land, before being taken away for restoration at a museum.