Ammon News - Two colossal alabaster statues of King Amenhotep III have been reinstalled at their original location in his mortuary temple on Luxor’s West Bank, following decades of careful restoration, reassembly, and scientific conservation, marking a landmark moment for Egypt’s cultural heritage.

The unveiling was attended by Minister of Tourism Sherif Fathy during his visit to Luxor to inspect several archaeological sites.

The ceremony marked the culmination of nearly three decades of work under the Conservation Project of the Colossi of Memnon and the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, one of the most ambitious heritage preservation initiatives in modern Egyptian archaeology.

“These works represent a major achievement in preserving and reviving one of the most important landmarks of ancient Egyptian civilization,” Fathy said. “They reaffirm Egypt’s commitment to protecting its cultural and archaeological heritage according to the highest international standards.”

Fathy highlighted the dedication of all those involved in the project and described the results as a significant accomplishment.

He also praised the long-standing Egyptian-German cooperation as a successful model of international partnership and expressed hope that this collaboration would continue to support heritage preservation in the coming years.

He thanked the workers at the site, noting that handling thousands of tons of heavy materials underscored the scale of the challenges, and praised their dedication and professionalism in completing the work to a high standard.

The project, launched in 1998, is a collaboration between Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, and international partners including the World Monuments Fund.

Its goal has been to rescue, document, and restore what remains of the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III, known in ancient texts as the Temple of Millions of Years.

Over the years, archaeologists recovered hundreds of fragmented pieces of the statues, buried beneath Nile silt and saline groundwater, which had damaged their structural integrity.

Granite blocks forming the statues’ bases were also recovered from the open-air museum at Karnak.

Starting in 2006, conservation teams carried out cleaning, restoration, and 3D digital documentation, carefully reassembling the dispersed blocks.

In 2025, the statues, measuring between 13.6 and 14.5 metres high, were re-erected at the Third Pylon of the temple, returning them to their original context for the first time in centuries.

According to Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector Mohamed Abdel-Badie, the statues depict Amenhotep III seated in a pose of divine authority, wearing the nemes headdress crowned with the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, a pleated royal kilt, ceremonial beard, and the traditional bull’s tail, symbols of kingship and strength.

Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mohamed Ismail Khaled emphasized that all restoration work followed internationally approved conservation standards, using materials compatible with the original stone to ensure long-term preservation while accounting for environmental conditions.

He described the reinstallation as a key milestone within a broader plan to revive Luxor’s West Bank sites. Ongoing projects include restoring the First Pylon of the Ramesseum Temple and assessing the conservation status of Queen Nefertari’s tomb, intending to reopen it to visitors.

During the ceremony, Minister Fathy honoured Sourouzian, the project director, for her exceptional contributions, presenting her with a certificate of appreciation and a replica of a statue of the goddess Sekhmet. More than 280 Sekhmet statues were discovered, restored, and documented during the project.

Sourouzian noted that many of the statues and architectural elements would not have survived without a comprehensive groundwater-lowering system, which reduced the site’s ground level by nearly three metres, enabling the safe recovery and preservation of submerged monuments.

Dr Dietrich Raue, a German Egyptologist and archaeologist, described the project as one of the largest and most significant joint archaeological initiatives, highlighting the complex work achieved through close cooperation.

He expressed his appreciation to the ministry for its sustained support, which enabled the project’s completion and the unveiling of the restored statues.

Ahram online