Egyptian and German archaeologists have discovered a colossal statue in the slums of Cairo. It appears to resemble Pharaoh Ramses II who was a powerful ruler in Egypt about 3,000 years ago.
The artifact is hailed to be one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in years. The discovery happened at the eastern part of Cairo in the ancient city of Heliopolis. According to the Daily Mail, the statue was found submerging in ground water and measured to about 26 feet.
During the statue's unveiling at the site on Thursday, Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani told Reuters: "Last Tuesday they called me to annouce the big discovery of a colossus of a king, most probably Ramses II, made out of quartzite." The Antiquities Ministry considers the statue as one of the biggest findings ever.
Ramses II, who's also famously known as Ramses the Great, was the most influential, powerful and celebrated pharaoh in the Egyptian empire. His rule lasted from 1279 to 1213 BCE and was the third pharaoh in Egypt's nineteenth dynasty.
He was one of Egypt's most powerful warriors leading military conquests that resulted to the expansion of the Egyptian empire. Being called by his successors as the "Great Ancestor," his accomplishments do live up to his name having conquered many nations but at the same time being able to establish peace with some of them.
In fact, Ramses the Great is considered as the first ruler in history to sign a peace treaty with his enemies. He made peace with the Hittites that ended years of wars.
Reuters added that lots of people watched the unearthing of Ramses II's statue on Thursday. The spectators were mostly residents, officials, archaeologists, and media personnel.
Aside from that, another discovery was also made where the joint Egyptian-German expedition unearthed an 80-centimeter statue that appears to be the upper portion of a life-sized statue of Pharaoh Seti II. This pharaoh ruled from 1200-1194 BC and is the grandson of Ramses II.
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