'3,000-year-old' statue discovered in Cairo is NOT of famous pharoah Ramses II

A statue of massive, discovered in Cairo, which was supposed to be of Ramases II, is a representation of another former leading Egyptian.

We think that the statue is of Pharaoh Psamtek I, who ruled Egypt between 664 and 610 BC, according to Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anani.

The artifact was found in a Cairo suburb last week.

A statue that was found in Cairo, which was thought to be of pharaoh Ramases II, is a depiction of another pharaoh, Psamtek I



Psamtek I ruled Egypt between 664 and 610 BC, during the Empire's late period. Pictured centre, Professor Dietrich Raue, of the Egyptian Museum poses beside the pieces of the statue

Mr. El-Anani spoke in front of the famous Egyptian Museum in the heart of Cairo, a few meters away from the statue, including the torso and a partial head of parts.

They were transported from the site of the Museum early Thursday.
The statue was supposed to be of Ramses II, who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.

Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anani says he's almost certainly a statue of Psamtek I. The pieces of the statue were taken from the site in the East of Cairo to the Egyptian Museum today

Monday, the statue was photographed moved to the top of a muddyditch.

When they thought it was Ramses II, experts said that it is "one of the most important discoveries ever" a muddy ditch.

Experts took to the Souk al-Khamis district of the capital Cairo and used a crane to lift the chest of three tons of the statue.



Pictured, a cat stretches out in the sun beside the artefacts before they were unveiled this evening at the Egyptian museum, Cairo

Who is Psamtek I?

Psamtek I ruled Egypt during the late period, between 664 and 332 BC.

He beat out 11 other corulers in order to become the leader of Egypt in 663.

When he became pharaoh, Egypt was still in the control of the Assyrian empire, but he managed to free the country within a decade of ruling.

His throne name was Wah-ib-re, which means 'Constant is the heart of Re'.

Psamtek spent the last four decades of his reign consolidating Egypt's power and encouraged Greeks to settle in the country.

Even though he hated the Assyrian Empire, he joined forces with them when the Babylonian Empire became an established power.

Pharaoh Psamtek I ruled Egypt during the late period, beating 11 rivals to become leader. Pictured, a bust of the pharaoh

The Department of Antiquities explained the elements of the statue would be assembled in the Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo, where they would be assembled and restored before being transferred to the Egyptian Museum yet to open near the pyramids of Giza.

"Last Tuesday they called me to announce the great discovery of a colossus of a King, probably Ramesses II, made from quartzite," Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani told Reuters on Thursday on the site ofthe statue unveiling.

"We found the bust of the statue and the lower part of the head andnow we have removed the head and we found the Crown and right ear, and a fragment of the right eye," Anani said.

A few days earlier, archaeologists, officials, local residents and members of the news media watched as a massive forklift fired the head ofthe statue out of the water

The joint Egyptian-German expedition, which includes the Universityof Leipzig, also found the top of a life-size statue limestone of the Pharaoh Seti II, grandson of Rameses II, which is 80 centimeters long.