Bible and archaeology news
The joint Egyptian and European “Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project” recently re-erected a colossal quartzite statue of Pharaoh Amenhotep III near Luxor, Egypt. The smoothly polished massive statue depicts the pharaoh seated with a smaller representation of Queen Tiye by his right leg. It was one of a pair that stood at the second pylon of the king’s funerary temple, and now it has been returned to its place about 350 feet behind the most famous representations of Amenhotep III, the Memnon Colossi. The statue collapsed in an earthquake around 1200 B.C.E. and remained buried in Nile alluvia until 2004. After completing scientific examination, the foundation was consolidated with cement and the colossus was raised using modern air cushions in conjunction with Pharonic-era methodologies. The team will continue its preservation efforts, and plans to lift the lower portion of the second colossus of the pair next year.
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