Discover the giant statue of the ancient Egyptian Queen

Scientists have discovered an almost intact preserved statue of a powerful Egyptian queen at the temple of Amenhotep III, located on the west bank of Luxor, currently in disarray.

The group of Egyptian and European scientists discovered a 3.6 m tall statue of quartz agglomerated attached to the broken leg of a giant statue of Amenhotep III, ruling Egypt around 1390 until 1350 BC.

Experts said the newly discovered statue was of the tyrant Queen Tiye of Amenhotep III and the most influential woman during the 38 years of the king's reign. This finding corroborates the assumption that the female members of the royal family are gradually taking over and influencing during this period.

This temple complex is about 700m wide and is the largest ancient temple in Egypt. Its most prominent attraction is the giant statue of Memnon - two identical statues 21m high standing right at the entrance to the temple . But the area was devastated by the massive earthquakes during the Pharaohs in the first century AD, so discovering an intact statue is extremely rare.

According to Hourig Sourouzian, commanding the archaeological team and studying the area since 2000, 'It is strange that she is not crushed. The leg of the larger statue was badly damaged so it was surprising that the queen statue placed right behind it was intact. And the queen is very beautiful. ' Archaeologists also discovered two sphinxes representing Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, plus 10 granite statues of Sekhmet, the lion goddess.

Unexpected discovery

The statue of the queen was discovered when people attempted to recover the debris of the statue that was devastated by the ideology in the temple complex. This temple originally had six statues of Amenhotep III in the sitting position, placed in pairs at three pillars separated by about 100 meters. In columns and statues, only the Memnon Statues near the first column are intact.

Sourouzian, Director of the Memnon Statue and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project, said her team is digging around the statue north of the second column to identify a piece of un-formed quartz.'First we saw the thumb, but the rock grew bigger and we were amazed at this beautiful queen, lying on the king's feet.' Queen Tiye is often depicted standing on the right leg of the Amenhotep III statue and on the left leg is his mother, Mutemwiya. The statue is carved with the titles of "royal, glorious princess, beloved of the goddess of the ghost and the queen of the two lands."

The archaeological group also discovered ten new Sekhmet statues - the lion-headed goddess, representative of war and healing. According to Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Antiquities Council, since 2000, 84 statues of this goddess have been discovered at the temple, perhaps a sign of Amenhotep's health. III is declining when he gets older.'Perhaps at the end of his reign, Amenhotep III was slightly weakened and he built Sekhmet's statues so that the goddess could heal the king's illness.'

Golden age

Experts believe that the size of the temple of Amenhotep III and the scale and number of statues he showed of the prosperity of Egypt in his reign. His reign was often referred to as the pinnacle of the New Kingdom, known as the ' golden age ' of ancient Egypt. Amenhotep foresaw the expansion of the Egyptian border, fortified diplomacy and built it at an ambitious pace and outstripped other pharaohs.

Scientists have discovered an almost intact preserved statue of the Egyptian Empress Tiye of the Emperor Amenhotep III - at the temple containing Amenhotep III's body in Luxor, currently in disarray. horizontal(Photo: Steven Stanek)

Sourouzian said: 'It is the pinnacle of Egyptian civilization, the most extensive, the most wealthy, the highest power . and the statue, therefore, is of tremendous size. The king has the best workshops, artists and sculptors - he uses all the stones and minerals available in mines. '

The statue was built to protect the ancient temples, but it is also a means to express the ruler's divinity. The second meaning is of increasing importance under the reign of Amenhotep III. According to W. Raymond Johnson, an Egyptian scholar at the Eastern Institute of the University of Chicago, 'Statues have the right to be considered gods . and they act as a bridge between gods and people. They protect the temple complex and they are the king's divine expansion. '

The giant king statues used to look down at the temple's spacious outdoor courtyard, although these statues were hewn in standing posture, not sitting.

Power woman

The 18th dynasty of Egypt, including the reign of Amenhotep III, is said to be a period of witnessing the rise of feminism, especially in the royal class. The newly discovered statue complements the assumption. According to Sourouzian 'The statue shows that women who are close to the throne are so important that they are widely publicized as statues.' He also said that one of Queen Tiye's titles is the Queen Queen. great.

Johnson of the Oriental Research Institute is also consistent with the idea.'This statue is an authentic evidence of their growing importance. We know from other works and this type of work that Queen Tiye shares her power with her husband. And this situation is highest in Akhenaten's time (son of Amenhotep III) and Nerertiti. They seem to be nearly equal in sharing power. '

Consequences of the earthquake

Most experts believe that a terrible earthquake destroyed the temple around the time of the first century AD. Sourouzian revealed evidence of an earthquake and the Ramessid era, following the 18th dynasty, during the reign of Merenptah (1212 to 1203 BC). The stones of the temple walls, bricks of giant pillars and fence walls were reused in the neighboring temples.

Two giant statues guard the lost temple of Pharaoh Amenhotep III (Photo: Nancy Gupton)

Some experts believe that the temple was intentionally wrecked for the purpose of re-mining, but Sourouzian said seismologists and geologists have shown that this temple was destroyed because of stratigraphic activities. .'This earthquake is very strong, during this time the statues are almost' jumping '. They not only fell, they moved away from their positions. '

Part of her job is an ambitious long-term plan to identify the fragments of statues, put them together and reconstruct them around 3,400 years ago. In a recent experiment, her team erected a standing statue about 7.5m tall of Amenhotep III in its original position, making it the first giant statue in the Memnon Statues. Egyptian officials hope this will be a unique outdoor museum.

Sourouzian said 'Most of the temples left walls, courtyards, shrines and even ceilings but they have lost most of the statues and objects in the temple. In contrast to this temple, walls, ceilings, columns, towers were lost but statues and beer still existed. '

This discovery is supposed to complement the idea that the female members of the royal family became increasingly influential in the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt.