The Statue of Ramesses II is a giant 12-meter-high sculpture carved in the New Kingdom of Egypt, during the reign of Ramesses II, pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt.

Finding The colossus was discovered in 1820 by the Italian traveler Giovanni Battista Caviglia and was originally located on the southern flank of the Great Temple of Ptah, (“Lord of magic”, “Master builder”, inventor of masonry, patron of architects and artisans. Healing power was also attributed), temple located in Memphis, capital of the Old Kingdom of Egypt and Nome I of Lower Egypt.

It was located south of the Nile River delta, in the region between Lower and Upper Egypt.

In 1820 it was going to be transported to the British Museum in London, an option that was ruled out due to the difficulties in transporting the monumental sculpture.

TransfersAfter its discovery in 1820, the statue remained for 130 years among the ruins of Memphis, about 40 kilometers south of Cairo. In 1954, President Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered the colossal figure to be brought to the Egyptian capital to celebrate the second anniversary of the successful 1952 revolution.

The fragments were transported and the statue was assembled, restored and placed in the center of Bab Al-Hadid Square, in front of the city’s main train station.

For half a century it witnessed the city’s heavy traffic, but in 2006 the Egyptian government, concerned that air pollution would damage the figure, decided to move it to Giza in anticipation of its future placement at the entrance to a new museum.

On August 25, 2006, he was transferred to Giza in a complicated operation that lasted 10 hours, and he was restored there. In January 2018 it was moved again to the entrance stairs of the new Grand Egyptian Museum.

DescriptionIt has a height of 10 meters (although it is believed that it was originally 13 meters) and weighs more than 80 tons. It is made of limestone.

The sculpture has been carved without any imperfections visible.

At the top you can see how the pharaoh is crowned by the double crown, it represents power in Upper and Lower Egypt.

Also appreciated is the royal headdress known as “Nemes”, it was a piece of very fine linen cloth that was placed on the pharaoh’s head and tied at the nape of the neck. This piece is represented with stripes.

The nemes was reinforced with a ribbon of hard material located between the forehead and the nemes. In this film two figures are represented: the vulture and the cobra.

The vulture was a symbol of the goddess Nekhebet, while the cobra was a symbol of the goddess Wadjet.