[Vision2020] Massive Head Of Pharaoh Unearthed In Egypt

Tom Hansen thansen at moscow.com
Sun Feb 28 16:13:21 PST 2010


Courtesy of National Public Radio at:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124169407

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Massive Head Of Pharaoh Unearthed In Egypt

Archaeologists have unearthed a massive red granite head of one Egypt's
most famous pharaohs who ruled nearly 3,400 years ago, the Egyptian
Supreme Council of Antiquities announced Sunday.

The head of Amenhotep III, which alone is about the height of a person,
was dug out of the ruins of the pharaoh's mortuary temple in the southern
city of Luxor.

The leader of the expedition that discovered the head described it as the
best preserved sculpture of Amenhotep III's face found to date.

"Other statues have always had something broken: the tip of the nose, the
face is eroded," said Dr. Hourig Sourouzian, who has led the led the
Egyptian-European expedition at the site since 1999. "But here, from the
tip of the crown to the chin, it is so beautifully carved and polished,
nothing is broken."

The head is part of a larger statue found several years ago, along with
the parts of the body, the back slab, and the ceremonial beard which
Souruzian says will soon be connected with the head.

Amenhotep III, who was the grandfather of the famed boy-pharaoh
Tutankhamun, ruled from 1387-1348 B.C. at the height of Egypt's New
Kingdom and presided over a vast empire stretching from Nubia in the south
to Syria in the north.

Sourouzian said the pharaoh was famous for leading Egypt at the peak of
its ancient civilization, when peace and luxury were prevalent throughout
the kingdom. Craftsmen were also honing their artistic techniques during
the period, which may explain the symmetrical features of the unearthed
head.

"But he may have looked exactly as this statue and he may have been a very
beautiful, very handsome man," Sourouzian told the Associated Press.

Amenhotep III's massive mortuary temple was largely destroyed, possibly by
floods, and little remains of its walls.

The expedition, however, has unearthed a wealth of artifacts and statuary
in the buried ruins, including two statues of Amenhotep made of black
granite found in March.

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Speaking of King Tut . . .

http://www.tomandrodna.com/King_Tut.mp3

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown




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