Archaeologists uncover broken statue of Egypt’s most powerful pharaoh at a sun temple in Heliopolis

By William On Mar 24, 2023

Archaeologists have discovered a number of broken statues of ancient Egyptian kings in a temple near Cairo.

These include Pharaoh Ramses II, who was Egypt’s most powerful and celebrated ruler over 3,000 years ago.

The statues also depict Ramses IX, Horemheb and Psamtik II, who reigned from 1126 BC respectively. to 1108 BC, 1323 BC Until 1295 BC. And 595 and 589 BC.

They were found during excavations of the Matariya Sun Temple at Heliopolis, an archaeological site in the northeastern part of modern-day Cairo.

The temple was founded by Ramses II, which means that it is not surprising to find statues of him there.

Archaeologists have discovered a number of broken statues of ancient Egyptian kings in a temple near Cairo. These include Pharaoh Ramses II, who was Egypt’s most powerful and celebrated ruler over 3,000 years ago

The statues also depict Ramses IX, Horemheb and Psamtik II, who reigned from 1126 BC respectively. to 1108 BC, 1323 BC Until 1295 BC. And 595 and 589 BC.

Sun temples were built between 1550 and 1070 BC and were dedicated to the worship of the sun god Ra.

WHAT IS HELIOPOLIS?

The ruins of Heliopolis, meaning “city of the sun” in ancient Greek, are located in the northeastern part of modern-day Cairo.

The Sun Temple at Heliopolis was founded by Ramses II, which increases the likelihood that the statue is his.

Ancient Egyptians believed that Heliopolis was the place where the sun god lives, meaning it was off limits to royal residences.

It was one of the largest temples in Egypt, almost twice the size of Luxor’s Karnak, but was destroyed in Greco-Roman times.

Many of its obelisks were moved to Alexandria or to Europe and stones from the site were looted and used for construction as Cairo developed.

Pharaohs were seen as the earthly representation of Ra and were thus responsible for the maintenance of these temples.

They grew up in different locations in Egypt, including Heliopolis, Abu Ghurab and Amarna.

The temples were typically built as a wide open courtyard surrounded by chambers, and housed a stone obelisk representing the sun’s rays.

They were also filled with statues meant to represent the gods and goddesses worshiped there.

They not only acted as physical objects to be worshiped during rituals, but were also seen as vessels of divine power.

Worshipers who offered them sacrifices believed that they could receive this as a blessing.

The statues were usually made of stone or metal, but were adorned with precious gems and decorations intended to increase their power.

But not only did they represent the ancient gods, statues depicting the pharaohs of that time were placed between them.

These were commissioned by royalty themselves and helped cement their divine authority over civilization.

Ancient Egyptians believed that Heliopolis was the place where the sun god lives, meaning it was off limits to royal residences.

The name means ‘city of the sun’ in Ancient Greek and it housed one of the largest temples in Egypt, almost twice the size of the Karnak Temple in Luxor.

Statues of pharaohs were placed in sun temples by order of the royal house itself. They helped cement their divine authority over civilization

The German team discovered multiple parts of statues of Ramses II with the body of a sphinx made of quartz, and a fragment from the reign of Ramses IX

The statues were found during excavations of a sun temple at Heliopolis, an archaeological site in the northeastern part of modern-day Cairo.

The new discoveries were announced Monday by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. In the photo: excavations at the sun temple of Matariya

The new discoveries were announced by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Monday.

The excavations that unearthed them were conducted by the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt and the Museum of Leipzig University in Germany.

Excavations were made near the Heliopolis Cultural Heritage Museum in the Matareya region of Egypt.

“This contributes to a better understanding of the history of this area,” wrote Dr Mostafa Waziri, the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The Egyptian team found a number of sarcophagi made of quartzite dating back to Horemheb’s reign, about 3,300 years ago.

Another shows King Psamtik II made of greywacke stone, who reigned about 1400 years ago.

They also found fragments of a limestone floor and parts of another royal statue that has yet to be identified, but its features suggest it could be more than 4,000 years old.

The German team discovered several parts of statues of Ramses II with the body of a sphinx made of quartz, and a fragment from the reign of Ramses IX.

They also found an inscribed pink granite stone that is likely the upper part of an obelisk from the reign of Ramesses II.

The Egyptian team found a number of sarcophagi made of quartzite dating back to Horemheb’s reign, about 3,300 years ago

The German team also found an inscribed pink granite stone that is likely the top part of an obelisk from the reign of Ramesses II

The statement added that traces of adobe walls and floors were also found north of the museum, dating back to the second half of the first thousand BC.

This suggests that there was “stability in this part of the temple during Ptolemaic and Roman times.”

The temple was largely destroyed in Greco-Roman times and many of its obelisks were moved to Alexandria or to Europe.

Stones and statues from the site were also looted and used for building materials as Cairo developed.

Dr. Waziri added that work in the area is ongoing and more results will be published in the coming months.

WHO WAS RAMSES II? THE SELF-PUBLICIST WHO COULDN’T STOP BUILDING STATUES OF HIMSELF

The fame of Rameses II, the third king of the 19th dynasty of ancient Egypt, is due to his flair for self-publicity.

He is mainly remembered for the colossal sculptures he commissioned and for his extensive building program.

Called Ramesses the Great by the Egyptologists of the 19th century, his reign marked from 1279 to 1213 BC. the last pinnacle of Egypt’s imperial power. He ascended the throne as the third king of the Nineteenth Dynasty at the age of twenty-five.

He is believed to have built more temples and fathered more children during his 67-year reign than any other pharaoh.

Rameses, born about 1303 BC, was appointed regent at the age of 14 by his father Seti I. He was only ten years old and appointed captain of the army. He became king in his early twenties, expanding his empire and leading an army north to recapture the lost provinces his father had failed to permanently conquer in modern-day Syria and Israel.

In Kadesh, Syria, he received false information from two captured enemy spies, who saw Ramesses II and his small corps of house troops surrounded by 2,500 enemy Hittite chariots.

He was rescued by reinforcements, and although he had failed to take Kadesh, the pharaoh had a long poem about his proud last stand carved on temple walls in Egypt.

In Nubia, part of which is now in northern Sudan, Ramesses II built six temples, including Abu Simbel, whose image of his face, carved into the rocky cliffs of the Nile Valley, may have inspired the massive depictions of American presidents on Mount Rushmore .

The king, who had a harem of 100 wives and more than 100 children, dedicated the smaller temple of Abu Simbel to his favorite queen, Nefertari. His building projects include the Great Hypostyle Hall, with its roof supported by columns, at Thebes – part of modern-day Luxor – and his own funerary temple, known as the Ramesseum, across the Nile from Luxor. He also built a city – Per Ramessu, also known as Pi-Ramesses – northeast of Cairo, where he lived surrounded by gardens and orchards.

Experts say he understood that visibility was central to his government’s success, and built bombastic structures to showcase his strength as a leader.

He founded a new capital, Piramesse, and built temples throughout Egypt and Nubia. The most famous of these buildings is the Abu Simbel, carved into the rock, and ‘the Ramesseum’ – his mortuary temple in Thebes.

The tomb of his main wife, Nefertari, is one of the best preserved royal tombs and the resting place of some of his sons has recently been discovered in the Valley of the Kings.

Ramses II was about 90 years old. He was originally buried in the Valley of the Kings, but his mummy, who has the face of an old man with a long, narrow face, prominent nose and large jaw, was moved to nearby Deir el-Bahari to thwart looters. Still with his hair, some skin and teeth. It was rediscovered in 1881 and is kept in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Nine successive pharaohs took the name of Rameses, as it was considered an honor to descend from him.