Anani Inspects Restoration of Ramses II Statue at Luxor Temple

Minister of Antiquities Khaled Al-Anani inspected one of the partially demolished statues of King Ramses II in preparation for its restoration and completion to enhance the first edifice facade of the Luxor temple.

The secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri, and head of the Egyptian antiquities sector Aiman Ashmawy accompanied the minister during his inspection tour.

Ahead of the restoration works, Waziri added that fragments of the statue, which was collected by Egyptian archaeologist Mohamed Abdel Kader, during the excavations carried out in the temple between 1958-1962, will be studied, recorded and documented.

"These shattered statues were likely destroyed by a disastrous earthquake in ancient Egypt," he noted.

To ensure safekeeping, Abdel Qader, who has assembled and restored these fragments, has placed them on wooden terraces next to their original place.

In 2017, the Ministry of Antiquities began a project to restore and re-install some of these statues, until the six statues of the first edifice facade of the temple have been concluded.

On his part, Ahmed Arabi, director of Luxor Temple, pointed out that the statue to be restored on the western side of the temple is made of red granite and portrays King Ramses II in the Osirian form.

Following the restoration, the statue is expected to reach a height of 7 meters.