Two giant pharaoh statues unveiled in Egypt.

The Colossi of Memnon. 


Two statues of Amenhotep III have been restored to their original spots in the ancient city of Luxor.

Amenhotep was a prominent ruler in ancient Egypt who controlled a vast empire covering the regions between modern day Iraq and Sudan. Having become the empire's ruler at the age of just 12, the celebrated pharaoh was memorialized with several impressive colossi.

Now a team of archaeologists has meticulously restored two more of the statues so that they can be put on public display. At 11m in height, one of the colossi weighs up to 250 tons but is missing a double crown piece that would have seen it weigh as much as 450 tons.

The two restored statues have now joined the two pre-existing 3,400-year-old Colossi of Memnon statues at the funerary temple of the King where they would have been originally located during ancient times.


Source: Russia Today

Ancient Egyptian coffin found in Israel.

Seti I and his son Ramesses.


Several artefacts were discovered inside the casket including a signet ring with a pharaonic seal.

Thought to date back 3,300 years, the ancient coffin was unearthed in Israel's northern Jezreel Valley and is believed to contain the remains of a local nobleman who lived during the reign of pharaoh Seti I.

Not only is the discovery the first of its kind in the region in over half a century but it also helps to cement the idea that Egypt's influence penetrated deep in to Israel and beyond during ancient times.

Archaeologist Ron Beeri believes that the presence of the pharaoh's seal within the coffin suggests that the deceased was a wealthy individual who likely carried out some important role on behalf of the Egyptians.

"We can't rule out the possibility that it may simply be a wealthy person who knew the Egyptian burial customs and preferred to be buried like an Egyptian, but in my opinion this possibility is less likely," he said.

Source: Reuters

How did the Egyptians move large stones ?

Did wet sand help the Egyptians build the pyramids ?

Without the availability of modern machinery the ancient builders of the pyramids had to improvise.

The exact way in which the Egyptian workers moved the huge stone blocks that made up the pyramids and other structures several thousand years ago has remained a matter of some debate.

Theories include everything from ramps and rollers to extraterrestrial intervention, but now scientists from the University of Amsterdam and the Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) have discovered a new method that would have made things significantly easier.

The solution is surprisingly simple - by moistening the sand in front of a sled carrying the stone block being moved, the workers would have been able to pull it across the ground with ease. This idea works because dry sand tends to pile up in front of the object being dragged along while the ground remains smooth when the sand is wet.

It is believed that the ancient Egyptian builders would have been more than capable of utilizing this method to make moving the pyramid's large stone blocks in to position a reality.

Source: Phys.org