Remains of two giant Ramses II statues found in a Gharbia village
A Supreme Council of Antiquities team has found a 1.6-metre head of Ramses II and most of a second royal statue at Behbeit El Hagara, after a resident reported a carved stone on his land.
An Egyptian mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities has uncovered the remains of two colossal royal statues at Behbeit El Hagara in Gharbia governorate, in the Nile Delta. One is of Ramses II and the other is thought to show the same king. The rescue dig began after a resident found an inscribed stone block while working on land he owns in front of his house and reported it to the antiquities inspectorate.
The first find is a head about 1.60 metres high, showing the king in the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, with part of the back pillar carrying one of his royal names. Hisham El Leithy, secretary-general of the council, said the size of the head suggests the full statue, with its base, stood about 8.5 metres tall. The second is most of a statue about 2.40 metres long, missing its legs and base, showing a king in the nemes headdress, with its head found and its face well preserved. A pink granite block about 1.30 metres long, a metre to the north, carries two of Ramses II's titles.
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy thanked the resident for reporting the stone at once. Behbeit El Hagara is known for the remains of a large temple to the goddess Isis.
The site is an active dig and is not open to visitors. The council says work will continue to study the pieces and look for more; it has not said where they will be shown. Anyone who finds what may be an ancient object on their land should report it to the nearest antiquities inspectorate, as this resident did.