Discovery of new parts of Ramses II statue

CAIRO – 28 February 2018: New parts of the statue of Ramses II were found in the Temple of Kom Ombo in Aswan Tuesday, during a project to protect the site from groundwater, according to an official statement by the Ministry of Antiquities.

Ayman Ashmawy, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Department at the Ministry of Antiquities, said that the importance of this discovery lies in finding new proof of the existence and use of this temple in the modern state era. Before this discovery, the only proof was represented in Tuthmosis III, where there is a visible part in the statue that depicts King Ramses II accompanied by God Sobek and God Horus, the main gods of the Temple of Kom Ombo.


New discovered parts of the statue of Ramses II in the Temple of Kom Ombo, Aswan – Photo courtesy of Ministry of Antiquities’ official statement.

Ashmawy added that the archeological team is currently working hard on the site aiming to discover the rest of the statue so that it can be re-installed as soon as possible.

Mohammed Abdel Badea, head of the Central Administration of Upper Egypt, said that this part of the statue represents the king in the body of the Assyrian, where the hands are seen intersecting on the chest and holding the mark of Ankh.


New discovered parts of the statue of Ramses II in the Temple of Kom Ombo, Aswan – Photo courtesy of Ministry of Antiquities’ official statement.

As for the head found in the outer back of the temple, it still retains the effects of the colors; there are remnants of red on the face and yellow on the forehead at the beginning of the crown.

Abdel Moneim Saeed, director general of the Aswan and Nubia area, said that the mission had initially found the head decorated with part of its crown. Upon completion of excavation works on the site, the mission succeeded in finding the remaining part of the crown.