2 giant sphinxes depicting King Tut's grandfather found at ancient Egyptian temple
By Laura Geggel published about 11 hours ago
The sphinxes were originally 26 feet (8 meters) long.
The head of King Amenhotep III, whose statue was fashioned to look like sphinx. (Image credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered two colossal limestone statues of King Amenhotep III that are fashioned to look like sphinxes, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
An Egyptian-German archaeological mission discovered the sphinx-like statues, which were originally about 26 feet (8 meters) long when they were created for King Amenhotep III, an 18th-dynasty king whose reign (about 1390 B.C. to 1353 B.C.) is known for its peace and prosperity, and whose grandson was King Tutankhamun.
The team unearthed the sphinxes in the ancient capital of Thebes (modern-day Luxor) at the mortuary temple of King Amenhotep III, which was called the "Temple of Millions of Years" by ancient Egyptians, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced in a statement on Jan. 13.
The sphinx-like Amenhotep III depictions are known as colossi, or larger-than-life statues. The archaeological mission — the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project, which started in 1998 — also discovered ruins of columns and walls at the mortuary temple that ancient Egyptians had decorated with ceremonial and ritual scenes, according to Al-Monitor, a news outlet that covers the Middle East.
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https://www.livescience.com/two-ancient-egyptian-sphinxes-discovered-at-temple