Two statues of sphinxes have been discovered in a temple built more than 3,300 years ago during the reign of Amenhotep III, Tutankhamun’s grandfather. References to Amenhotep III are inscribed on these colossal statues.
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The “Temple of Millions of Years” was erected during the reign ofAmenhotep III, at the request of the Pharaoh. He wanted the construction of a temple which would be used in particular to carry out rituals and to make offerings in his honor after his death. This funerary temple was built at the end of the reign of Amenhotep III, which lasted between approximately 1390 and 1353 BC. This complex was in the necropolis of Thebes (the present city of Luxor) which overlooks the Nile and was destroyed by a earthquake around 1200 BC Most of the temple’s columns and statues were destroyed or submerged and it was not until 1988 that restoration work on the temple began.
Sphinxes with the face of the pharaoh
Despite the age of this work, archaeologists are still discovering elements of the temple. They thus exhumed three busts in granite black representing the goddess Sekhmet at the head of Lionprotectress of the sovereigns of Egypt, and which served to protect the courtyard of the temple.
Two statues representing sphinxes, chimeras between man and lion, just updated. The face of the sphinxes probably represents Amenhotep III with a headdress, a royal beard as well as a large necklace and one of the statues gate an inscription referring to this pharaoh.
Archaeologists estimate that the original height of the statues was around eight meters and archaeologists are currently working on their restoration.
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