Two Colossal Sphinx Statues Discovered Inside Ancient Egyptian Temple

According to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, there are two limestone statues of King Amenhotep III that look like sphinxes.

The sphinx-like statues were created for King Amenhotep III, an 18th-dynasty king who ruled from 1390 to 1353 BCE.

The mortuary temple of King Amenhotep III, which was called the "Temple of Millions of Years" by ancient Egyptians, was the location where the sphinxes were unearthed.

The larger-than-life statues of Amenhotep III are known as colossi. According to Al-Monitor, the ruins of columns and walls at the mortuary temple that ancient Egyptians decorated with ceremonial and ritual scenes have been discovered by the archaeological mission.

The two colossi show Amenhotep III wearing a headdress, a royal beard, and a broad necklace, according to the statement. An inscription was found on one of the colossi that said "the beloved of Amun-Re," a reference to Amenhotep III.

The head of the archaeological mission told Al-Monitor that the temple housed a large number of statues, models and wall decorations before it was hit by an earthquake.

The ministry of tourism and antiquities in Egypt.

The head of Sakhmet had the body of a woman.

Three statues of the powerful goddess Sakhmet, who is depicted as having the head of a lion on the body of a woman, were found by the mission. The Sakhmet statues were located at the peristyle court.
The Heb-Sed, a festival of the king started after 30 years of his rule and was repeated every three years thereafter, was revealed by the newly discovered pieces of wall relief.

The end of the 30th year of the king's ascension to the throne was celebrated at the Heb-Sed festival.

The depictions of this festival show the king on his throne, with the crowds around him happy and excited, waiting for his speech promising them another 30-year reign full of prosperity and opulence. The king would make offerings to the gods.

The pharaoh would run around a race track in the courtyard during the high point of the festival.

The project had four parts. After investigating the ruins, the team will put the newly documented artifacts back in their original places. The team will manage the site and how to best preserve it going forward.

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The article was published by Live Science. The original article can be found here.