Discovery of a part of Amenhotep III statue

CAIRO – 8 January 2018: A part of a statue for Amenhotep III was found underneath a parking lot located in Sohag Governorate.

The Antiquities Committee, headed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the general manager of Sohag antiquities sector, discovered the ancient part on Monday. The committee announced that the discovered part is from a statue of Amenhotep III made from black granite.

The discovered part showed clearly that the statue was presented by the left foot forward, which is a tradition, shown in the statues of the kings of ancient Egypt. Also, in front of the right foot, there is a collection of Hieroglyphic writings about the coronation and birth of King Amenhotep III.

Amenhotep III is the 9th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. Amenhotep III, the son of Thutmose IV, was born around 1388 BC. The Thutmosid family ruled Egypt for about 150 years.

Amenhotep III was married to queen Tiye and had two sons: Crown Prince Thutmose and Amenhotep IV, known as Akhenaten. Amenhotep III’s era was prosperous and artistic. At that time, Egypt was a leading country in arts, politics and international power.
Amenhotep III was crowned when he was a child, aged 6 - 12.

Amenhotep III has the largest number of discovered statues, about 250. These statues showed clearly the details of the Amenhotep III's era. He was buried in the Western Valley of the Valley of Kings.