Baboon god statue found in Egyptian ruins

The remains of statues including those of a pharoah and an Egyptian baboon god have been unearthed.

The find was made during an excavation at Amenhotep’s mortuary temple, the largest in ancient Egypt. The baboon statue is believed to be that of the god Hapi who was depicted as a baboon by the ancient Egyptians. Here is the story :

Archaeologists have discovered fragments of a statue of a pharaoh and an ancient god during a routine excavation at what was once the largest temple in ancient Egypt, culture minister Farouk Hosni said on Thursday.

According to Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, the fragments -- the legs of King Amenhotep III and a bust of the god Hapi depicted as a baboon -- were uncovered in the ruins of Amenhotep’s mortuary temple on the west bank of Luxor, Upper Egypt.


Work has been ongoing to uncover the ruins of the once powerful king’s funerary complex, the largest of its kind before it collapsed over 2,000 years ago during the Late Period. Although the blocks were reused in the construction of other temples, it is believed that the northern side of the temple served as a burial spot for broken.

"Because the statuary were ritually significant, they could not be destroyed," said antiquities chief Zahi Hawass, who headed the excavation.

"The excavation team is still digging to find fragments of the double statue. It is the first of its kind as it depicts the king seated with the god Hapi, one of the four sons of Horus, beside him."

In the last two years, five double statues of King Amenhotep III accompanied by the deities: Re-Horakhti, Khepri, Horus, and Hapi have been found.

source : here