Statue of Ramesses II

The Statue of Ramesses II is a colossal 3,200-year-old figure of Ramesses II, depicting him standing. It is 11 metres (36 ft) tall and made from red granite, weighing about 83 short tons (75 t; 75,000 kg).[1]

History

In 1820, the statue was discovered, broken into six pieces, at Mit Rahina near ancient Memphis, Egypt, where it lay for several decades.[2]

In 1955, after early attempts at restoration in situ had failed, Egyptian Prime Minister Gamal Abdel Nasser moved the fragments to the large Bab Al-Hadid Square in Cairo, outside Cairo's main railway station (Ramses Station); the square was then renamed Ramses Square. The statue was restored to its full height and erected on a 3-meter (10-foot) pedestal at the edge of a fountain. It was stabilized by iron bars inside the body.[2][3]

In 2006, the Egyptian government decided to relocate the statue to a more appropriate location, as Ramses Square turned out to be an unsuitable location, where the statue was exposed to corrosive pollution and constant vibration from traffic and subways. It was decided to first move the colossus to a temporary site on the Giza Plateau, anticipating a final move to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza.[1][2]

Criticized for its costs and concerns about pollution at the Giza location,[4] the transportation of the statue from Ramses Square to Giza was a technological challenge that had been in the planning since 2002. To test the proposed relocation process, a replica was made and transported along the planned route to Giza several weeks before the actual scheduled move.[5][4]

On August 25, 2006, the statue was eventually moved as a single intact piece. During its ten-hour transport the statue was wrapped and covered in rubber foam. Two flat-back trucks carried the weight of the statue and its support structures as it traveled in a vertical position.[5][4]

In 2018, and after some restoration performed at the temporary location, the statue was moved to its current location, 400 meters (1,300 ft) away, in the entrance hall of the Grand Egyptian Museum.[6][7][8][9][10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Romey, Kristin (2018-01-26). "3,000-Year-Old Colossal Pharaoh Statue Moved to New Home". www.nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic. Retrieved 2024-11-19. Weighing in at 83 tons and more than 30 feet high
  2. ^ a b c Hawass, Zahi. "The removal of Ramses II Statue". Retrieved 2007-03-17.
  3. ^ Raafat, Samir. "Ramses Returns Home". Archived from the original on 2006-12-07. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
  4. ^ a b c Nevine El-Aref (2006-05-25). "Farewell to Ramses". Al-Ahram. Archived from the original on 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2006-08-24.
  5. ^ a b "Ramses statue moved closer to pyramids". 2006-08-25. Archived from the original on 2006-05-31. Retrieved 2006-08-25.
  6. ^ "Egypt's antiquities minister conducts inspection tour before Ramses II colossus moved to GEM display". english.ahram.org.eg.
  7. ^ "New move for Ramses II". english.ahram.org.eg.
  8. ^ "Ramses II statue to be transferred to Grand Egyptian Museum's main gallery". www.egypttoday.com. 2018-01-16.
  9. ^ "Ramses II colossus to be erected at Grand Egyptian Museum display spot". dailynewsegypt.com. 2017-12-26.
  10. ^ "Ramses II gets new home". www.arabworldbooks.com.

Bibliography

29°52′17″N 31°12′59″E / 29.8713°N 31.2164°E / 29.8713; 31.2164

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