The tall figure was barely visible at first as it lay sideways in a muddy pit between two apartment buildings in northeast Cairo.

But as the sewage water was drained away and the dirt scraped off, the onlookers in the working class neighbourhood began to make out a recognisably royal frame.

And then - just a few yards from where women hang their family’s laundry and vendors sell street food - emerged a towering statue of what is believed to be Egypt’s most famous pharaoh.</s>Archaeologists from Egypt and Germany began removing the quartzite statue -- estimated to stand 26 feet tall -- from the ground in Matariya, greater Cairo, in front of state representatives and media crews Thursday.

Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani, who was on site for the unveiling, said the figure is most likely Pharaoh Ramses II, otherwise known as Ozymandias.

No inscriptions on the statue identify it as Ramses II, said Mahmoud Afifi, head of Ancient Egyptian antiquities at the ministry, but its discovery near the gate of a temple dedicated to Ramses II temple makes him the most likely subject.

Much of the temple complex of ancient Heliopolis, where the statue was found, was destroyed in the Greco-Roman period, and antiquities were plundered and sent to Alexandria or Europe. Other building materials were recycled as Cairo reinvented itself in later eras.

Ramses II, a colossus known as the "Great Ancestor" to his descendants, ruled for 66 years from 1279 to 1213 BC as part of Ancient Egypt's 19th dynasty. He conquered swathes of Nubia in modern-day Sudan and Syria. His exploits have echoed down the ages, inspiring British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley to pen sonnet "Ozymandias" three millennia later in 1818: "Round the decay / Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare / The lone and level sands stretch far away," Shelley wrote, imagining a Ramses II statue in ruins. But rather than endless desert and the Valley of the Kings, this Ozymandias was retrieved from a pit swamped with groundwater. Achaeologists drain the groundwater seeping in to the dig in Matariya, Cairo. The ministry has come under fire on social media and from some news outlets for using a forklift truck to extract part of the statue from the site. Afifi responded by saying the sheer weight of the head was a factor, with Dietrich Raue, who heads the German team of archaeologists involved in the excavation, confirming the statue had not been damaged in the process. Archaeologists are still working out how to remove the even larger torso portion of the statue, the ministry adds. The dig has also uncovered a 31-inch section of a life-sized limestone statue of Ramses II's grandson Seti II. The dig is continuing, and experts hope to uncover more of the Ozymandias statue for restoration. In the meantime, the head and torso will be moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, which is due to open in 2018.</s>Archaeologists from Egypt and Germany began removing the quartzite statue -- estimated to stand 30 feet tall -- from the ground in Matariya, greater Cairo, in front of state representatives and media crews Thursday.

The find comes at the end of a dig that began in 2012, says Dietrich Raue from the University of Leipzig, who heads the German team of archaeologists involved in the excavation.

"It was in an area that was almost completely investigated," he explains. The team had found basalt bases in the dilapidated courtyard, but nothing more substantial. "We thought [the pit] would be empty without any features... so that was a great surprise."

Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani, who was on site for the unveiling, said the figure is most likely Pharaoh Ramses II, otherwise known as Ozymandias.

No inscriptions on the statue identify it as Ramses II, said Mahmoud Afifi, head of Ancient Egyptian antiquities at the ministry, but its discovery near the gate of a temple dedicated to Ramses II temple makes him the most likely subject. But Raue says although the statue was certainly placed there by Ramses II, the jury is still out on who it depicts. Much of the temple complex of ancient Heliopolis, where the statue was found, was destroyed in the Greco-Roman period, and antiquities were plundered and sent to Alexandria or Europe. Other building materials were recycled as Cairo reinvented itself in later eras. A worker stands with part of the quartzite head, removed Thursday. Ramses II, a colossus known as the "Great Ancestor" to his descendants, ruled for 66 years from 1279 to 1213 BC as part of Ancient Egypt's 19th dynasty. He conquered swathes of Nubia in modern-day Sudan and Syria. His exploits have echoed down the ages, inspiring British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley to pen sonnet "Ozymandias" three millennia later in 1818: "Round the decay / Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare / The lone and level sands stretch far away," Shelley wrote, imagining a Ramses II statue in ruins. But rather than endless desert and the Valley of the Kings, this Ozymandias was retrieved from a pit swamped with groundwater. Achaeologists drain the groundwater seeping in to the dig in Matariya, Cairo. The ministry has come under fire on social media and from some news outlets for using a forklift truck to extract part of the statue from the site. Afifi responded by saying the sheer weight of the head was a factor, with Raue confirming the statue had not been damaged in the process. Archaeologists are still working out how to remove the even larger torso portion of the statue, the ministry adds. The dig has also uncovered a 31-inch section of a life-sized limestone statue of Ramses II's grandson Seti II. The dig is continuing, and experts hope to uncover more of the Ozymandias statue for restoration. "I'm rather sure that [the hips and legs0 will be there," Raue says, "but the problem is we're in the middle of the city, and the bottom part may be very close to the houses. It would be dangerous to excavate closer to the houses, so probably we will not get the bottom part." Raue told CNN he doubts a full reconstruction of the face will be possible, though he said fragments of the eyes, crown and lips have been retrieved. The head and torso will be moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, which is due to open in 2018.</s>Remains of an ancient Egyptian statue believed to depict Pharaoh Ramses II have been found hidden in an area of flooded wasteland in Cairo.The statue's head and broken torso were recovered from a pit of earth and water by a team of German and Egyptian archaeologists in Cairo's Matareya district on Thursday, reports Almasry Alyoum Modern day Matareya is where the ancient Egyptian city of Heliopolis once stood and archaeologists suspect the newly discovered eight-meter-tall effigy could be a tribute to a pharaoh who ruled Egypt between 1279-1213 BCE.AlthoughDr Dietrich Raue, University of Leipzig professor and the German team lead, told RT that the area in Matareya had been under investigation since 2001. "The statue was found in one of the last squares that had not been excavated yet," he said.He added that it was likely to have been erected at a temple in Heliopolis around 1250 BCE: "Ramses II often used statues of earlier kings, so when the statue is taken out, research will start to prove, whether it is reused or not."Victory at the Battle of Kadesh, in which Egyptian forces outmaneuvered their Anatolian enemies, has been attributed to Pharaoh Rameses II , who is often depicted riding a chariot in ancient artwork.The Egyptian king is also thought to have had 200 wives during his reign.Pictures from the excavation site show how pieces of stone sculpture were found hidden underneath soil in a squalid area of Matareya.According to the head of the Egyptian archaeological team, Dr Ayman Al-Ashmawy , the giant sculpture will be assessed by researchers while work to discover if any further materials are buried at the location continues.Once more research into its origins is carried out, the statue is expected to be placed in a new ultra-modern Grand Egyptian Museum , currently planned for a site near the Giza pyramids.Tarek El Awady, director general of the museum, described the discovery as "beautiful"."It is a very beautiful colossal statue... and such a large object shows how great this ancient capital of Egypt was," El Awady told Deutschlandradio Kultur</s>CAIRO (USA TODAY Network/Mary Bowerman) — A team of archaeologists from Egypt and Germany recently unearthed a massive ancient Egyptian statue in Cairo.

The statue is believed to be of Pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, Reuters reported. The statue was found submerged in groundwater near what was the ancient city of Heliopolis.

A bulldozer pulled the head of the statue out from the mud Thursday, according to Reuters.

The statue is "one of the most important archaeological discoveries” made in the area, Khaled al-Anani, Egypt's antiquities minister, said in a Facebook post.

Reuters reported that the team also uncovered a statue of Ramses II's grandson, Pharaoh Seti II.</s>A giant, eight-meter statue thought to depict Pharaoh Ramses II , who ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BCE, has been discovered submerged in groundwater in a slum in Cairo .

Archaeologists from Egypt and Germany found the quartzite statue in the working class area of Matariya, among unfinished buildings and mud roads, Reuters reports. The location is near where the ancient city of Heliopolis was. According to archaeologists, the ancient city's sun temple was founded by Ramses II, which further suggests that the newly-discovered statue is of the Pharaoh.

An 80cm-long part of limestone statue of Pharaoh Seti II, Ramses II's grandson, was also discovered. Experts will now attempt to extract the remaining pieces of both statues before restoring them, Reuters reports.

If the archaeologists are successful, and the authenticities of the statues are proven, they will be moved to the entrance of the Grand Egyptian Museum, set to open in 2018.</s>CAIRO — Archaeologists from Egypt and Germany have found a massive eight-metre statue submerged in ground water in a Cairo slum that they say probably depicts revered Pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.

The discovery, hailed by the Antiquities Ministry as one of the most important ever, was made near the ruins of Ramses II’s temple in the ancient city of Heliopolis, located in the eastern part of modern-day Cairo.

“Last Tuesday they called me to announce the big discovery of a colossus of a king, most probably Ramses II, made out of quartzite,” Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani told Reuters on Thursday at the site of the statue’s unveiling.

The most powerful and celebrated ruler of ancient Egypt, the pharaoh also known as Ramses the Great was the third of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and ruled from 1279 to 1213 BCE.

He led several military expeditions and expanded the Egyptian Empire to stretch from Syria in the east to Nubia in the south. His successors called him the “Great Ancestor”.

“We found the bust of the statue and the lower part of the head and now we removed the head and we found the crown and the right ear and a fragment of the right eye,” Anani said.

On Thursday, archaeologists, officials, local residents, and members of the news media looked on as a massive forklift pulled the statue’s head out of the water

The joint Egyptian-German expedition also found the upper part of a life-sized limestone statue of Pharaoh Seti II, Ramses II’s grandson, that is 80 centimetres long.

The sun temple in Heliopolis was founded by Ramses II, lending weight to the likelihood the statue is of him, archaeologists say.

It was one of the largest temples in Egypt, almost double the size of Luxor’s Karnak, but was destroyed in Greco-Roman times. Many of its obelisks were moved to Alexandria or to Europe and stones from the site were looted and used for building as Cairo developed.

Experts will now attempt to extract the remaining pieces of both statues before restoring them. If they are successful and the colossus is proven to depict Ramses II, it will be moved to the entrance of the Grand Egyptian Museum, set to open in 2018.

The discovery was made in the working class area of Matariya, among unfinished buildings and mud roads.

Dietrich Raue, head of the expedition’s German team, told Reuters that ancient Egyptians believed Heliopolis was the place where the sun god lives, meaning it was off-limits for any royal residences.

“The sun god created the world in Heliopolis, in Matariya. That’s what I always tell the people here when they say is there anything important. According to the pharaonic belief, the world was created in Matariya,” Raue said.

“That means everything had to be built here. Statues, temples, obelisks, everything. But … the king never lived in Matariya, because it was the sun god living here.”

The find could be a boon for Egypt’s tourism industry, which has suffered many setbacks since the uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 but remains a vital source of foreign currency. The number of tourists visiting Egypt slumped to 9.8 million in 2011 from more than 14.7 million in 2010.

A bomb attack that brought down a Russian plane carrying 224 people from a Red Sea resort in October 2015 further hit arrivals, which dropped to 1.2 million in the first quarter of 2016 from 2.2 million a year earlier.</s>A staff of German and Egyptian archaeologists manufactured a colossal discovery on March ninth – literally and figuratively. Components of a enormous, 3000-12 months-aged statue, which is considered to depict the famous Pharaoh Ramses II, were being located buried in the Cairo slum of Matariya. The findings notify an ancient tale of the world’s origins, and could commence a new chapter for Egypt.

The recovered bust and head of the antique statue measure eight meters in length and are manufactured of quartzite. The upper part of a smaller sized statue, depicting Pharaoh Seti II (Ramses II’s grandson), and parts of an obelisk bearing hieroglyphics were being also excavated. Specialists have previously started restoring the artifacts, which will later be shown at the Grand Egyptian Museum established to open up in 2018.

Ramses II is frequently regarded to have been the finest Pharaoh to at any time rule the Egyptian Empire, and he considered that the earth was designed in Heliopolis, modern-day-working day Matariya. This latest unearthing of record could aid to leap-commence the Egyptian tourism field, which has endured tremendously over the last six years because of to political unrest and terror attacks.

Components of a enormous, 3000-12 months-aged statue, considered to depict the famous Pharaoh Ramses II, were being just found out in a Cairo slum

The quartzite statue’s bust and head measure eight meters lengthy together, and were being submerged in ground water

Ramses II is broadly regarded to have been Ancient Egypt’s finest Pharaoh, and was a renowned military services leader

A partial statue of Pharaoh Seti II, Ramses II’s grandson, and parts of an obelisk were being also recovered from the internet site

Ramses II considered that the earth was designed in Heliopolis, now recognized as Matariya, the slum exactly where this statue was located

These monumental findings were being unearthed by a staff of German and Egyptian archaeologists, and are presently becoming restored

Locals were being just as shocked by the artifacts as those who located them, and collected about to just take photos of them

After the statues are all set, they will be shown in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, established to open up in 2018

This could aid to leap-commence Egyptian tourism, which has endured over the last six years because of to political unrest and terrorist attacks

Matariya is considered to be the internet site of the Ancient Egyptian sunlight temples, which were being constructed to worship Ra, the god of sunlight

Other ruins of Heliopolis were being formerly located in the Northern locations of Cairo, generating this statue exceptionally probably to be Ramses II

The sunlight temples were being purportedly double the size of Luxor’s Karnak, but were being wrecked through Greco-Roman periods

The unearthing of these statues will with any luck , notify us even a lot more about the life of Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, which include Ramses the Good

Look at this unbelievable footage of the excavation from The Guardian:</s>Archaeologists in Cairo believe they have uncovered parts of a temple of Pharaoh Ramses II, including an eight-metre-high statue. The statue could not be identified from its engravings, but since it was found at the entrance to the temple, it was likely to represent Ramses II, who ruled Egypt in the 13th century BC
• Look on my works, ye mighty … Ozymandias statue found in mud</s>Archaeologists have discovered a 26-feet-tall statue that is believed to be a likeness of Pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled Egypt between 1279 BC and 1213 BC. The statue was found in a slum in the eastern part of Cairo, reported The Guardian. Egypt’s antiquities ministry announced the discovery on Thursday.

“Last Tuesday they called me to announce the big discovery of a colossus of a king, most probably Ramses II, made out of quartzite,” said Khaled al-Anani, the antiquities minister. “We found the bust of the statue and the lower part of the head and now we removed the head and we found the crown and the right ear and a fragment of the right eye.”

The site of discovery is near the ruins of Ramses II’s temple in the ancient city of Heliopolis. The expedition was undertaken by archaeologists from Egypt and Germany. They also found part of a life-sized limestone statue of Pharaoh Seti II, Ramses’s grandson. If the remains turn out to be what the archaeologists believe they are, they will be placed after restoration at the entrance of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, which will open to public in 2018.
German and Egyptian archaeologists uncover a humanoid statue with an approximate height of eight metres, believed to be of Ramesses II, at the former site of Heliopolis in northeast Cairo.