Statue of King Tut's grandfather unearthed in Egypt: 3,400-year-old antiquity discovered near Luxor temple
Fresh find: The upper part of a double limestone statue of King Amenhotep III (1410-1372 BC)
Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed part a 3,400-year-old statue of the pharaoh Amenhotep III, believed to be the grandfather of the young King Tutankhamun, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said on Saturday.
'The statue was found near the northern entrance of Amenhotep III's temple and depicts the king sitting down on a throne with Amun,' the chief deity, Hawass said.
The 4ft by 3ft statue of Amenhotep III in Kom el-Hittan was discovered at the site of the pharaoh's mortuary temple in the southern city of Luxor, Egypt's Ministry of Culture said.
The temple is one of the largest on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor.
The statue portrays Amenhotep III wearing the double crown of Egypt, which is decorated with a uraeus, and seated on a throne next to the Theban god Amun.
He ruled in the 14th century B.C. at the height of Egypt's New Kingdom and presided over a vast empire stretching from Nubia in the south to Syria in the north.
The pharaoh's temple was largely destroyed, possibly by floods, and little remains of its walls.
But archaeologists have been able to unearth a wealth of artifacts and statuary in the buried ruins, including two statues of Amenhotep made of black granite found at the site in March 2009.
Hawass said there is an 'overwhelming amount of statuary' depicting the ruler, who was the father of Amenhotep IV, better known as Akhenaten. There may be other statues of him at the site, according to the council's statement.
Amenhotep III was the ninth king of the 18th dynasty was the son of Thutmose IV and Queen Mutemwiya.
He married Tiy, daughter of Yuya, who was a chancellor of the north and was a priest of Hermonthis and Amon.
Egypt was enjoying a peaceful time during Amenhotep’s reign, thus allowing him to concentrate on more artistic renewals.
The statue was unearthed at Kom El-Hittan, in the west bank of Luxor. Kom el-Hittan is the site of the temple of Amenhotep III, once the largest temple on Luxor's west bank
He married daughters of foreign kings, including a Mitanni princess and one from Babylon. This solidified his international standings.
During his reign he enlarged many temples. He built Malkata on the western shore of Thebes, south of Medinet Habu.
This complex was a miniature city with offices, houses, chambers, chapels and apartments.
Close to Malkata he built a lake for his queen. Next to the lake he built a palace for his harem and a palace for Queen Tiy.
He also built the famous Colossi of Memnon, along with the rest of his huge mortuary temple on the West Bank of Luxor, and is accredited with building the Temple of Luxor.
Amenhotep spent years improving Karnak, by adding temples and a row of sphinxes that linked it to the temple of Amon at Luxor.
He died in his mid-fifties. His heir was the infamous Akhenaten
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