The Supreme Council of Antiquities has completed the restoration of the statue of King Thutmose II located on the southern facade of the eighth edifice of Karnak Temples.
Mostafa Waziri, the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained that the restoration work was carried out by Egyptian hands through the restorers and archaeologists of the council.
He said that the statue is one of the largest statues of King Thutmose II, as its height is about 10.5 metres, and its weight exceeds 65 tonnes, noting that its restoration took a whole year.
Waziri added that restoration works are currently underway of a number of statues located in Karnak Temples.
He pointed out that the restored statue is made of quartzite stone and was carved by King Thutmose II in the Red Mountain quarry and left in its location in the quarry until his son King Thutmose III erected it in its current location on the southern facade of the eighth edifice in Karnak Temples, which was mentioned on the dedication text on the back column of the statue.
Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the Central Administration of Antiquities of Upper Egypt, said that the team of archaeologists from the region carried out all the documentation and registration work for the statue before starting the restoration work, which began in August 2021.
Abdel Hakim Al-Badri, the director of restoration at Karnak Temples, explained that they reinstalled and assembled the pieces on the terraces and reinstalled them in their original places with statues.
