As part of the work of the Egyptian archaeological mission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities at the Tell Pharaoh site in Al-Husseiniya, Sharqia Governorate, a huge statue missing its lower part, which included the legs and base, has been discovered and most likely depicts King Ramses II.
Dr. Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, stressed that this discovery is one of the important archaeological finds that shed light on aspects of religious and royal activity in the eastern Delta region, and helps deepen understanding of the phenomenon of moving and reusing royal statues during the New Kingdom, especially in the context of links between regional sites and the major royal centers.
He explained that the statue is remarkably large, with an estimated weight of 5 to 6 tons and a height of about 2.20 meters, and is in a relatively poor state of preservation, while the remaining parts show artistic and royal features suggesting it was part of a triad, similar to those discovered at a number of archaeological sites in Sharqia Governorate.
Mohamed Abdel Badie, Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said preliminary studies indicate that the statue was moved in ancient times from the city of Pi-Ramesses to the Tell Pharaoh site, known in antiquity as "Imet", to be reused inside a religious complex, reflecting the site's religious and historical importance throughout the ages.
To preserve this discovery, the statue was moved immediately after it was found from inside the temple complex at the site to the museum storehouse in the San El-Hagar area, ahead of starting precise and urgent restoration work according to the highest scientific standards followed in the conservation and preservation of antiquities.
It is worth noting that last September a stone stela was discovered representing a new copy of the famous Canopus Decree, issued by King Ptolemy III in 238 BC when senior priests gathered in the city of Canopus (east of Alexandria) to sanctify and honor King Ptolemy III, his wife Berenice and his daughter, and to distribute the text of the decree to the major Egyptian temples.
