3,400-year-old double statue of Pharaoh discovered in Egypt

Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) said Thursday that archeologists had discovered a 3,400-year-old statue of Pharaoh Amenhotep III together with a falcon-headed sun god in south Egypt's Luxor.

SCA Secretary-General Zahi Hawwas said the statue was one of the most beautiful statues ever found recently in Amenhotep III's funerary temple, who had a large quantity of statues featuring him with many different ancient gods.

Amenhotep III, who was believed to be the grandfather of the famed boy-pharaoh Tutankhamun, ruled in the 14th century B.C. in one of the most prosperous period of Egypt's New Kingdom and presided over a vast empire stretching from Nubia in the south to Syria in the north.

Earlier this month, Egyptian archeologists found the upper part of a double statue of the Pharaoh sitting on his throne, with chief deity Amun.

via 3,400-year-old double statue of Pharaoh discovered in Egypt.

Two things to notice, one, Wordpress now destroys the quality of images uploaded. The originals are much sharper. And two, there is one article about these statues that completely ignores the attached headless twin (including cropping the twin out entirely):

Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed part a 3,000-year-old statue of the pharaoh Amenhotep III, believed to be the grandfather of the young King Tutankhamun, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said on Saturday.

"The statue was found near the northern entrance of Amenhotep III's temple and depicts the king sitting down on a throne with Amun," the chief deity, Hawass said.

The red-granite top half of the statue was discovered at the site of the Amenhotep III's funerary temple in the southern city of Luxor, Hawass said.

The newly-discovered artifact which measures 130 cm (51 inches) in height and 95 cm (37 inches) in width is "fantastic... because of the details of the facial features," Hawass said.

Archaeologists believe the full statue is around three metres (nearly 10 feet) tall.

In recent years, a large quantity of red-granite statue pieces have been uncovered at Amenhotep III's funerary temple at Kom al-Hitan on Luxor's west bank.

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 computerised tomography (CT) scans on the famed boy king's mummy announced by scientists on February 17.

via DiscoveryOn