Overview
- Officials unveiled the two seated statues on December 14 after a roughly 20‑year restoration overseen by an Egyptian–German team led by Egyptologist Hourig Sourouzian.
- The figures, carved from Hatnub alabaster and measuring about 14.5 meters and 13.6 meters, once flanked the entrance to Amenhotep III’s mortuary temple on the Nile’s west bank.
- Archaeologists recovered dispersed fragments, including blocks reused at Karnak, to rebuild the colossi toppled by an earthquake around 1200 BC that devastated the temple.
- The monuments face east toward the Nile and the rising sun, and include smaller statues of the pharaoh’s wife, Tiye, at their feet.
- The unveiling follows the Grand Egyptian Museum’s inauguration, with officials citing 15.7 million tourists in 2024, an expected 18 million this year, and a goal of 30 million annually by 2032.