Thursday, March 23, 2017

Archaeologists unearth statue of Queen Tiye in Egypt's Luxor

The discovery of the statue was made by the European-Egyptian mission, working under the umbrella of the German Archaeological Institute

By Nevine El-Aref , Thursday 23 Mar 2017

A unique statue, possibly of Queen Tiye, the wife of King Amenhotep III and grandmother of King Tutankhamun, has been unearthed at her husband's funerary temple in Kom El-Hittan on Luxor's west bank.

The exciting find was made by the European-Egyptian mission, working under the umbrella of the German Archaeological Institute.

Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany who visited the site to inspect the discovery, described the staute as "unique and distinghuised".

He told Ahram Online that no alabaster statues of Queen Tiye have been found before now.

"All previous statues of her unearthed in the temple were carved of quartzite," he said.

Hourig Sourouzian, head of the mission said that the statue is very well preserved and has kept is colours well.

She said the statue was founded accidentally while archaeologists were lifting up the lower part of a statue of king Amenhotep III that was buried in the sand.

"The Queen Tiye statue appeared beside the left leg of the King Amenhotep III statue," Sourouzian said.

She added that the statue will be the subject of restoration work. 

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/261512/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Archaeologists-unearth-statue-of-Queen-Tiye-in-Egy.aspx

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