Emily Chan
For 94 years, the head of an Egyptian statue was nowhere to be found. But recently, archaeologists have uncovered it during excavations in the ancient city of Hermopolis, which is located about 150 miles south of Cairo. Soon, the upper and lower halves of the statue will finally be reunited.
The lower part of the statue was discovered by a German archaeologist named Günther Roeder in 1930, nearly 100 years ago.
The statue depicted Ramesses II, also known as the Ramesses the Great. The pharaoh ruled from 1279 to 1213 B.C.E., making him one of the longest-reigning pharaohs in history.
Now, archaeologists from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and the University of Colorado Boulder have recovered the top portion of the statue.
It is 12.5 feet long and portrays Ramesses II in a seated position. He is wearing a double crown and headdress that features the royal cobra.
Initially, the archaeologists had set out to find the religious center that once stood at Hermopolis during the New Kingdom era, which spanned from the 16th century B.C.E. to the 11th century B.C.E. The Egyptian empire fell to the Romans in 30 B.C.
The researchers believe that the complete statue would have reached a height of 23 feet. It is constructed out of limestone and contains hieroglyphic writings on the back that speak highly of the pharaoh.
They also found traces of ancient yellow and blue pigments on the newly unearthed piece of statue. After analyzing the pigments, they hope to be able to deepen their understanding of the statue and when it was created.
“It will be quite exciting to have a scientific analysis of the pigment,” Yvona Trnka-Amrhein, an assistant professor of classics at the University of Colorado Boulder, said.
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