Lord Mayor of Memphis

Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref)

A colossus of an ancient Egyptian deity in Luxor, an Umayyad coin in Wadi Al-Natroun and the tomb of a 19th-Dynasty mayor of Memphis at Saqqara are the most recent discoveries in Egypt, Nevine El-Aref reports

At the end of the winter archaeological season the announcement of new discoveries are helping specialists to decipher more chapters in Egypt's ancient history. The most recent discoveries were carried out by Egyptian missions from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and Cairo University in Luxor, Wadi Al-Natroun and Saqqara.

On Luxor's west bank, at the northwestern side of the temple of Pharaoh Amenhotep III of the 19th Dynasty, an SCA mission discovered what is believed to be a colossus of the ancient Egyptian deity of wisdom, Djehuty. This large rose granite colossus measures 3.5 metres in height and 140 centimetres in width.

Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the SCA, says the site where the statue was unearthed suggests that it could have been on an avenue of Djehuty's that once lined the path leading northwards to the temple. Hawass pointed out that last year similar five-metre tall colossi were found at the same place and he expects still more colossi to be found. The date of the statue cannot be verified until the excavations are completed as further objects that can be dated more specifically might be discovered.

Traces of the colossi were first shown on the site during the execution of a development project aimed at controlling the level of subterranean water on the west bank of Luxor, which led Hawass to assign a special excavation mission to explore the site.