Archaeologists Uncover Ancient Egyptian Temple

Statues Discovered – Egyptian War Goddess

Around 66 statues have been discovered of an Egyptian war goddess that was believed to have warded off evil from the temple of Amenhotep III. The reign of Amenhotep III is said to have been from 1386 to 1349 BC and is considered as the peak of the prosperity, power and splendour of Egypt. It was surprising for the German scientist to locate the statues of Sekhmet goddess together with one of King Amenhotep III from a stunning black granite statue seated at a throne, at the time of restoration project in Luxor the location of the ancient city of Thebes.

 It had been located in the great court of the temple situated towards the west bank of the city of Luxor. These statues had been discovered while they were hunting for a temple wall which separated the two sites. Sekhmet known as `the powerful one ‘ is said to be the daughter of Egyptian sun god Ra and considered to ward off evil as well as ill health. She had great influence on the Egyptians so much so that when Amenemhat I, the first pharaoh of the twelfth dynasty had moved the capital of Egypt to Itjtawy, her spiritual centre also followed.

Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project

Some of her statues portray her in a standing position, holding the symbol of life – a sceptre which is prepared of papyrus. As per the Ministry of Antiquities, the Egyptian German archaeological mission who had been functioning in Luxor, on the temple of King Amenhotep III, directed by German Egyptologist Hourig Sourouzian, had excavated 66 statues together with fragments of statues for Sekhmet.Hourig Sourouzian director of the Colossi of Memnon as well as Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project had commented saying that it was a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian sculpture, which was well carved and precisely polished.

The statue is said to portray the king as a young man and is presumed to have been custom-built at the time of his reign. As per historians, Pharaoh Amenhotep III was appointed a king at the tender age of 12 when he had inherited the empire which spanned from Euphrates to Sudan. As part of government restoration project that had started in 1998, his temple is being rebuilt and preserved.

Huge Construction of Architectural Prowess

Recently numerous unbelievable findings have come to light from his reign comprising of chilling finds in a 3,600 year old tomb.The undertaker's temple of Amenhotep III had been built between 1390 and 1353 BC in order to pay homage to the New Kingdom Pharaoh after his death. It had been a huge construction of architectural prowess which measured 100 metres wide by 600 metres in length and could have had several statues similar to the ones discovered signifying the king though also of sphinxes and gods.

The temple complex however had been built too close to the Nile where frequent flooding had caused plenty of damage. In 27 BC an earthquake and pillaging of stone together with sculptures for reuse in other structures had concluded the destruction. Towards the end of the 20th century, one thing only seemed to remain intact from the original structure which was the Colossi of Memnon, the two large statues that weighed about 720 tons, seated on thrones.

 The black granite statue which had been discovered by the team is said to be identical like another one found earlier in 2009. It is now on display at the Luxor Museum of Ancient Egyptian Art.