Egypt unveils reassembled Ramses II colossus

Egyptian archaeologists have pieced together 70 fragments to reassemble a large statue of Ramses II in the upper Egypt's province of Sohag.

Credit: Egypt. Ministry of Antiquities

Ramses II was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and was considered the strongest pharaoh of the New Kingdom that spans from the 16th century BC to the 11th century BC.

"The restoration work took six months from the Egyptian conservators and restorers," Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri said, noting that "it was a miracle to finish revival of the 12-metre high and 43-ton weight statue in short period."

Egypt's Minister of Antiquities, Khaled al-Anany, hoped that revealing the statute along with a recently discovered tomb in the city of Akhmim will attract more tourists to the Sohag region, about 390 km south of Cairo.

Kholod Hussein, restoration specialist at Akhmim site, said "the statute fragments have been scattered in the site for long years."

Credit: Egypt. Ministry of Antiquities

"I have never imagined those tiny pieces would be brought collectively in one piece," Hussein told Xinhua.

The female restorer was one of a 14-member team who worked daily for more than 12 hours. She said the ceremony of unveiling the statute as "her wedding party."

Hussein said arranging pieces while ascending the statue with robes was the most difficult part for her especially in cold nights.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Refai, another restorer pointed out the team has collected the pieces of the statue on ground first. Then they started to organize the pieces from the lower part of the body. He stressed all the members of the team are from Sohag province.

"We have been born surrounded by this great heritage and our job now is to preserve it for the coming generations," he added.

Source: Xinhua News Agency [April 07, 2019]