Egypt unveils restored Colossi of Memnon after 3,200 years

Egypt has unveiled two restored colossal statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, toppled by an earthquake 3,200 years ago, in a major archaeological achievement aimed at boosting tourism.

Known as the Colossi of Memnon, the giant alabaster statues were painstakingly reassembled over 20 years, recovering hundreds of fragmented pieces buried under Nile silt and damaged by saline groundwater, The National writes. 

Standing 14.5 and 13.6 meters tall, the statues depict Amenhotep III seated, with two smaller statues of his wife, Tiye, at his feet.

The statues originally guarded the entrance to Amenhotep III’s mortuary temple on Luxor’s West Bank, built during the prosperous New Kingdom period (1390–1353 BC). Much of the temple was destroyed by an earthquake around 1200 BC, with some blocks repurposed for other structures.

The restoration project, launched in 1998, was a collaboration between Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, the German Archaeological Institute, Johannes Gutenberg University, and international partners, applying modern scientific methods to preserve the statues’ authenticity.

The unveiling comes just weeks after the long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum opened near the Giza Pyramids, highlighting Egypt’s efforts to revive its tourism sector, which suffered from political unrest, the pandemic, and global conflicts.

By Sabina Mammadli