Overview
- The statues, standing about 14.5 meters and 13.6 meters tall, were re-erected at the third pylon of Amenhotep III’s mortuary temple on Luxor’s West Bank.
- Officials say a powerful earthquake around 1200 B.C. felled the colossi, with many pieces later retrieved from reuse at Karnak to enable reconstruction.
- Work began in the late 1990s under Egyptologist Hourig Sourouzian, with major cleaning and 3D documentation undertaken from 2006 by an Egyptian–German team.
- Authorities report the project followed international restoration standards and also documented 280 Sekhmet statues and two limestone sphinxes now under conservation.
- The unveiling is presented as part of Egypt’s tourism push following the Grand Egyptian Museum opening, with 15.7 million visitors in 2024, about 18 million projected for 2025, and a goal of 30 million by 2032.