CAIRO—Archaeologists in Egypt discovered a massive statue in a Cairo slum that may be of pharaoh Ramses II, one of the country’s most famous ancient rulers.
The colossus, whose head was pulled from mud and groundwater by a bulldozer and seen by The Associated Press on Friday, is around eight meters (yards) high and was discovered by a German-Egyptian team.
Egyptologist Khaled Nabil Osman said the statue was an “impressive find” and the area is likely full of other buried antiquities.
“It was the main cultural place of ancient Egypt, even the bible mentions it,” he said. “The sad news is that the whole area needs to be cleaned up, the sewers and market should be moved.”
Ramses II ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago and was a great builder whose effigy can be seen at a string of archaeological sites across the country.
