King Amenhotep III Colossi���Luxor Updates & Video Links
In cooperation with the Ministry of Antiquities, the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project, led by German Egyptologist Dr. Hourig Sourouzian, completed the re-erection of two colossi statues on the West Bank of Thebes, at the North Gate of the King’s Funerary Temple. Their broken pieces had lain buried for centuries in a nearby field after an earthquake�� toppled them around 1200 B.C.
Both colossi, hewn from red quartzite of Gebel El Ahmar, represent King Amenhotep III. Wearing the white crown of upper Egypt, broad collar, pleated Shendyt-kilt and belt, each colossi holds a roll of papyrus inscribed with his name in both hands. “Nebmaat-Re, Amenhotep Ruler of Thebes, beloved of Amon-Re” in inscribed on the rectangular clasp of the belt of the East-Colossus which is better preserved, along with a falcon headed dagger inserted in the belt.
The two colossi stand at a height of nearly 13 meters (42 feet) tall and weigh over 110 tons. “These are up to now the highest standing effigies of an Egyptian king in striding attitude,” Sourouzian said.
The Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project began their work in 1998, dedicated to preserving and conserving the last remains of the once-prestigious temple. Lying in the fields of the West Bank of Luxor, it exposed and buried remnants are vulnerable to agriculture and irrigation, water and salt, vegetation and fire. The project includes lowering the water level in the temple precinct.
Among the discoveries over the years include a monumental alabaster statue of a hippopotamus, placed in the northern portico. Numerous statues of the goddess Sekhmet with the face of a lion and seated on a throne, have also been found, hewn from dark granodiorite�� measuring 2 meters high.
Filed under: Egypt News - Environment & Egyptology
