Un grupo de arqueólogos ha descubierto el busto de una estatua del faraón Amenhotep III (1410-1372 a.C.) en la ciudad monumental de Luxor, localizada a 700 kilómetros al sur de El Cairo. La pieza fue hallada durante las excavaciones que se llevan a cabo al noroeste del templo de este rey, en la zona de Kom el Hitan, en la orilla occidental del Nilo.

Fuente: EFE, El Cairo | Terra.es, 4 de octubre de 2010
Fotos por gentileza de Consejo Supremo de Antigüedades (SCA).

El busto, perteneciente a una estatua doble de Amenhotep III en granito, representa al faraón junto al dios solar Re-Horakhti, que tiene la forma de un halcón. El secretario general del CSA, Zahi Hawas, destacó que esta escultura es una de las más bonitas de este faraón, del que ya se han encontrado numerosas piezas en las que aparece representado con distintos dioses de la antigüedad, entre ellos el de la muerte y el de la recuperación.

Como Amenhotep III estuvo enfermo durante tiempo antes de su muerte, se descubrieron con anterioridad en la misma zona de Kom el Hitan ochenta estatuas de la divinidad de la recuperación, conocida como Sejmet (diosa leona). El mes pasado, el busto de otra estatua del monarca fue hallada en esta localidad. Amenhotep III, uno de los faraones más destacados de la dinastía XVIII, fue padre del rey Akenatón y abuelo de Tutankamón.

Amenhotep III & sun god Re-Horakhti statue unearthed at pharaoh's funerary temple in Luxor

By Heritage-Key.com. Submitted by Ann on Thu, 11/04/2010 - 15:08

Archaeologists today discovered the upper portion of a statue of Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III at Luxor, Egypt.

The find – part of a double statue featuring King Amenhotep III with the falcon-headed sun god Re-Horakhti – was made at the pharaoh's funerary temple, located on the west bank of the Nile.

In a press statement, Egypt's Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny said that the discovery was made during routine excavations at Amenhotep III's mortuary temple carried out by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

The dig is supervised by Dr. Zahi Hawass, who thinks of the newly discovered statue as one of the best of the recent finds in the area, because of its expert craftsmanship which reflects the skills of the ancient Egyptian artisans.

Previously, the SCA mission already unearthed a double statue of the pharoah and the god Amun, several sculptures depicting the king with solar god Amun-Re and an unique granite colossus, depicting the god of wisdom Thoth in the form of a baboon.

“This is the first time that we have found a standing statue of the god Thoth,” said Dr. Hawass about the baboon statue.

18th Dynasty king Amenhotep III, (1390-1352BC) is well known for the overwhelming amount of statues dedicated to him, particularly group statuary featuring the king with the ancient Egyptian deities.

These include Amun-Re, Re-Horakhti, Bastet, Sobek, and – most frequently – Sekhmet, the ancient Egyptian goddess of healing (as well as destruction).

So far, more than 80 statues of the goddess have been unearthed by the Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project, directed by Dr. Hourig Sourouzian It has been suggested that the Sekhmet statues were erected because Amenhotep's failing health during the final years of his reign.


A number of group statues of Amenhotep III are still partially buried under private the farmland surrounding the temple. The government and the SCA are now trying to reach an agreement with the landowner to purchase the section so the statues can be fully excavated.

Amenhotep III's funerary temple - famous for its Colossi of Memnon - was built closer to the Nile than any other temple in Thebes, right on the edge of the floodplain. Consequently, less than 200 years after the pharaoh's reign, it had almost completely collapsed, with most of its stones being removed from the site to be reused in other construction projects.