Remainder of 3,000-year-old statue of Pharaoh Ramses ll extracted

The Egyptian-German excavation mission operating in Matareya, East Cairo, has removed the second part of a statue of Pharaoh Ramses II, found last Thursday. The discovery was met by a wave of criticism, accusing the mission of neglect, after pictures circulated showing children playing around broken pieces of the newly excavated statue, believed to be over 3,000 years old.

In a statement released on Monday the Antiquities Ministry said that the discovery is the biggest accomplishment of the mission to date. The excavation has been operating in the heavily populated Matareya area, built over the pharaonic religious capital city of Heliopolis, for 10 years.

The first part of the statue, which consists of the crown, right ear and part of the right eye, was removed on Thursday and taken to the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir where it is being treated. The second part will also be taken to the Egyptian Museum for restoration, according to the ministry’s statement. The ministry said that the statue will be displayed in the new Grand Egyptian Museum, expected to be inaugurated in 2018.

Ramses II (1279 BC – 1213 BC), also known as Ramses the Great, is the most well-known  ruler of the  Pharaonic era. He was the third ruler of the 19th Dynasty (Circa c. 1292 BC to 1187 BC). The statue was found close to the remnants of the Ramses II Temple, located in an ancient pharaonic city now buried under Matareya.

The Antiquities Ministry has defended itself and the mission against accusations of neglect, circulated after Thursday's discovery, which suggested the excavation damaged the artifact. In a statement issued Friday the ministry asserted that all the statues found submerged in groundwater in this area are in pieces as they were destroyed during Christian eras as they were considered symbols of paganism.