Farmer finds colossal statue of Ramses II under his field

Egyptian farmer Khaled El-Shahat Khalil was working in his field in front of his home when he came across something unusual in the ground: a pink stone with an inscription. Subsequent archaeological excavations led to the discovery of parts of two statues of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, who reigned from 1279 to 1213 BC. BC ruled over the unified empire on the Nile.

“I was working on my land on a Friday when I found an unusual stone,” El-Shaht told US broadcaster CBS News. “I informed the relevant authorities and they came to examine him.”

The inscribed stone block made of pink granite is about 1.3 meters long. The remaining hieroglyphs on it name, among other things, two of the titles of Ramses II: “Nesu Beti” (King of Upper and Lower Egypt) and “Sa Ra” (Son of Ra).

Shortly after El-Shahat informed the archaeologists, they began their excavations. They discovered the colossal head of a statue of Ramses II. This alone was 1.6 meters high. The entire statue is estimated to be 8.5 meters tall. The king was depicted wearing the pschent - the Egyptian double crown - which marked the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt around 3100 BC. Chr. symbolized.

Remains of the upper part of the back pillar of the statue were also found. These bore the king's Horus name: “Hor-ka-nakht-mery-maat”. It marks the ritual transformation of the pharaoh upon his accession to the throne as the earthly embodiment and representative of the falcon god Horus. In this role, his task was to maintain the divine order (Maat) and protect the empire against earthly chaos.

Just one meter away from the pink granite block, the archaeologists also found the larger half of a second statue. It is estimated to be around 2.4 meters high and probably also shows Ramses II.

Last Wednesday, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities visited farmer El-Shahat Khalil in his village of Bahbit El-Hegara in Gharbia Governorate. There, the minister honored the man and his wife in the presence of the local governor with a certificate of gratitude and a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. He praised the exemplary behavior of the citizen who immediately reported the ancient find on his own land to the archaeological authorities.

Further excavations are now to be carried out to “uncover further secrets of the site”, as the ministry announced in a post on social media. The Bahbit El-Hegara area in Gharbia Governorate is known as an important archaeological site in the Nile Delta. Among other things, there are the remains of a famous temple of the goddess Isis.

Ramses II himself, also known as Ramses the Great, is considered one of the greatest pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. He is widely regarded as the most powerful king of the New Kingdom, itself considered the pinnacle of ancient Egyptian power. He led at least 15 successful military campaigns in Syria, the Levant and Nubia, restoring Egyptian control in previously lost territories.

His 66-year reign as king was the longest of any pharaoh - and one of the longest of any monarch in world history. During this time he had countless monumental buildings built that still shape the image of ancient Egypt today.

These include the temple complex of Abu Simbel, the Ramesseum, the construction of the new capital Pi-Ramesses and the most famous tomb of all Egyptian queens - the tomb of Nefertari.