The Egyptian archaeological mission responsible for renovating the city of Tanis and turning part of it into an open museum announced restoring a huge, severely damaged statue of Ramses II.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, announced that the mission has completely renovated the statue, which was found broken into several pieces and was left on the ground of one of the city’s temples since it was discovered in the late 19th century.
Restoring the area started in December 2017, with the attempt of making it an open museum for tourists to discover other unknown artefacts from Egypt’s history.
Waziri stated that the 6.5-metre-long statue is made of pink granite, and it weights up to 30 tonnes.
He also asserted that the restoration process was applied by experts who renovated and recollected the Ramses II statue in Luxor, adding that both renovations were applied using the most recent renovation technologies.
Tanis, or San El-Hagar, located in the north-eastern Nile Delta, holds significant historical importance as the northern capital of Egypt during the 21st and 23rd dynasties.
The statue was discovered in January along with other statues featuring Ramses II and other statues of the royal family of the two main dynasties, which are to be showcased at the area’s museum.
Waziri previously stated that Tanis is one of the most neglected archaeological areas in Egypt despite its historical importance, adding that many foreign missions have carried out excavation work there; however, it remains in need of more attention regarding the restoration of the discoveries.
The statue is not the only recollected relic from the city. He added that the mission also recollected and restored poles to showcase along the statue and several other antiquities.
