New sphinx discovered in Luxor

CAIRO – 9 August 2018: A sphinx was found during the development of Al-Kabbash Road project, declared General Director of Luxor Antiquities Mohamed Abdel Aziz on Sunday.

Abdel Aziz remarked that the ministry is currently working on lifting the statue because due to the nature of the environment it is in, it cannot be extracted directly from its place.

He added that Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani has urged tourists to visit Al-Kabbash road to see the statue.

In the same context, Bassam al-Shamma, a researcher in Egyptology, remarked that the Sphinx’s discovery is expected as several sphinx statues are found across Luxor such as the sphinx statues for King Aymanhotb III and Thutmose IV.

Al-Kabbash Road project, which would be finished by the end of 2018, was resumed in 2017 with a budget of LE 230 million ($12.7 million) in cooperation with Luxor governorate, the head of the projects’ sector at the Ministry of Antiquities, Waheed Abou el-Ela, told Egypt Today Friday, quoting Minister al-Anani.

Abou el-Ela said the road will be paved to allow easy access for visitors in addition to moving utilities like electricity and water. The project includes the development of the floors, the completion of the excavation and repairs to the collection of Al-Kabbash, ram-headed sphinxes, in the warehouses followed by re-installing them.

Al-Anani announced that an engineering committee visited Luxor on May 27 to discuss all the project’s obstacles, to prepare a detailed study of the current situation and to prepare a comprehensive financial feasibility study for the project.

Al-Kabbash Road is the road that connects Luxor Temple to Karnak Temple.

The project to excavate and restore Al-Kabbash Road began in 2005 and about LE 600 million have been spent on the project. The project was halted after the January 25 Revolution.