HALF A GIANT RAMESSES II STATUE FOUND IN EGYPT
The upper half of a giant statue of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II has been discovered near the ancient city of Hermopolis. The large stone piece is about 3.8 metres tall and depicts Ramesses II wearing a double crown and a headdress topped with a royal cobra. The back of the statue has hieroglyphs that state the various titles of the king. These titles help glorify Ramesses II. The lower part of the statue was found in 1930 by German archaeologist Günther Roeder. The original statue, when the parts were together, would have stood about seven metres tall.
During the reign of Ramesses II, during the 19th Dynasty, Egypt was a vast empire that extended roughly from modern-day Sudan to Syria. A new capital, Pi-ramesses, was constructed at Qantir in northeastern Egypt, and Ramesses II made a peace treaty with the Hittites in which he would marry a Hittite princess. Numerous statues of Ramesses II were constructed during and after his reign. These include some at Abu Simbel in southern Egypt that are about 20 metres tall.
In addition to discovering the statue, archaeologists have been working to restore the Ashmunein Basilica, a Christian basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary that was built on the site during the 6th century CE.