The remains of two giant sphinxes were recently located in an ancient temple in the city of Luxor in Egypt by archaeologists working there.
The sphinxes, each of which is about 8 meters long, were found partially submerged in the water in the temple of Amenhotep III, who was an Egyptian pharaoh who was active in 1390-1353 BC who was also known as the grandfather of Tut Ankh Amun.
In the many years that have passed since it was built, the huge temple, whose size is no less than 7 football fields, has been flooded many times.
The teams working there have tried over the years to dry the place, but due to its size and to preserve the items found there, the process has been going on since 1998, when work began on the place.
The Great Sphinx of Giza (archive), photo: AP.
The sphinxes were discovered by a team of Egyptian and German researchers, while those were restoring the ancient burial site of Amenhotep III, also known in the country by its ancient Egyptian name "House of the Million Years".
During the restoration process, an inscription was found on the chest area of one of the sphinxes that read "Dearest of the heart of Amun-Ra", the king's royal name.
The team also discovered three stone statues of the war goddess Sekhmet and the remains of columns and walls on which engravings of rituals that took place at the site were found.
According to Dr. Horig Sorozian, who led the team of archaeologists, the engravings were found near an important road that was used during the various celebrations that took place throughout Pharao's life, and these presented images of the Sed Festival, an event in which he celebrated the 30th year of his reign, which has since been held every three years until he passed away.
According to Abdel Rahim Rihan, head of the research department at Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the engravings show the king sitting on his throne in full power, with the crowd around him looking happy and excited as he waits for Amenhotep's speech.
The found engravings, photo: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
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