The
lower part of a statue of Psamtik I has been unearthed in Souk Al-Khamis area
in Matariya district following earlier discoveries in March. Written By/ Nevine
El-Aref.
The
Egyptian-German Archaeological Mission uncovered most of the remaining parts of
the recently discovered colossus of 26th Dynasty King Psamtik I (664-610 BC)
while excavating at the temple of Heliopolis in the Souk Al-Khamis area of
Matariya district in east Cairo.
Aymen
Ashmawy, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department and leader of the
Egyptian excavation team, told Ahram Online that the joint mission has
unearthed around 1,920 separate quartzite blocks comprising the lower part of
King Psamtik I colossus.
The
mission is composed of archaeologists from the Egyptian Ministry of
Antiquities, the Georg Steidorff Egyptian Museum at the University of Leipzig
and the University for Applied Sciences, Mainz.
"Early studies carried out
on the newly found blocks of the colossus reveal that most comprise parts of
the pharaoh's kilt, legs and three toes," Ashmawi pointed out. The studies
also suggest that the buried colossus was constructed in a standing position,
not a seated one, he stated.
The
excavations were focused around the location in which the upper body of
Psamtik's colossus had been found back in March 2017, according to Dietrich
Raue, the head of the German archaeological team which participated in the
mission.
The statue's first part was found just to the north of its more
recently uncovered lower part. Evidence suggests the sculpture had been
destroyed at an uncertain date and its fragments scattered around a 20-meter
diameter area.
Wider
Discoveries
The
team also uncovered numerous granite blocks that belong to other statues,
including one of King Ramses II, the god Rahurakhti, and others yet
unidentified. Ashmawy noted that the mission will continue to uncover more of
the colossus' lower part during the next archaeological season. The coming find
could reveal a total of 2,000 fragments and blocks.
Among
the most prominent parts of the uncovered section, he said, is the back pillar
engraved with the sacred Horus-name of Psamtik I, "a fact that confirm
that the discovered colossus is that of King Psamtik I, and not King Ramses II
as some suggested." Upon initial discovery, some archaeologists had
believed that it may have belonged to King Ramses II, but the engravings on its
back pillar dispelled that hypothesis.
The
mission also found a gigantic fragment of the Eye of Horus which was likely a
part of a larger statue of deity Rahurakhti. Ashmawy asserted that studies on
the newly discovered eye fragment show that this statue could have been up to
six meters tall, making it the tallest statue of the deity known from ancient
Egypt.
Among
the pieces of king Psamtik I's statue, Raue explained, the mission found a
collection of red granite fragments of a King Ramses II statue engraved with
his Horus name. Also found in the debris were fragments of a Late Period statue
decorated with depictions of gods and demons in the style of the
Horus-the-saviour stelae and statues. This kind of statue was commonly used in
ancient Egyptian temples and believed to hold healing powers for ill
individuals. At
the northern edge of the area, Raue said, a poorly preserved eight-ton fragment
was also extracted. Due to its deteriorated state, Egyptologists were not able
to determine its exact dating or to whom it belongs.
Eissa
Zidan, head of the restoration department at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM),
told Ahram Online that the newly discovered fragments of king Psamtik I's
colossus were transported to the museum for cleaning, restoration and archaeological
documentation. After a full study of the artifacts, Zidan noted, a plan will be
devised to reconstruct the parts of the colossus and put it on display at the
GEM.
The
upper part of the colossus, which includes of the torso and a large part of the
head and crown, is currently on display at the museological garden of the
Egyptian Museum in Tahrir. Until its discovery last spring, it had sat under
the water table in Souk Al-Khamis neighborhood, an area heavily congested with
housing.
Al-Matariya
was once Egypt's capital city, in which most Egyptian kings erected their
monuments within its temples for about 2400 years. Because of the area's
proximity to continued human settlement, the site was heavily destroyed in
subsequent millenia, from Late Roman times onward to the Mameluk era and until
today. Blocks of the area's ancient temples were re-used to build various
monuments in Old Cairo, such as Bab el-Nasr and others.
Studies
carried out so far, Megahed explained, show that it can be assumed that stone
columns lined the side walls of the court, which was enclosed by mud brick
walls that were in at least some places painted blue. The
rear end of the court, a ramp or staircase leads to an elevated stone sanctuary
whose back part was divided into three parallel chambers.
