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The statue of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye is displayed in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Image by Kristofert, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Unearthed pieces match giant statue of pharaoh, queen

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf

The statue of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye is displayed in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Image by Kristofert, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The statue of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye is displayed in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Image by Kristofert, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
CAIRO (AP) – Archaeologists have unearthed six missing pieces from a 3,400-year-old colossal double statue of a powerful pharaoh and his queen.

The Supreme Council of Antiquities said in a statement Sunday the fragments of the statue of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye were discovered on the west bank of the Nile in the southern city of Luxor.

An Italian team restored the statue after it was first unearthed in 1889, filling in the missing pieces with modern stonework.

The recovered fragments were from the right side of Amenhotep III’s chest, crown and leg, and a section of the queen’s leg, left arm and foot.

The original pieces will be fitted to the statue, which is on display in the main hall of Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.

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AP-ES-01-09-11 0848EST

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

The statue of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye is displayed in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Image by Kristofert, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The statue of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye is displayed in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Image by Kristofert, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.