Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed two large red granite ancient statues in southern Egypt, dpa quoted the country's ministry of culture as announcing today. A 4-metre-tall statue of the pharaonic god of wisdom, Thoth, was discovered along with another featuring the upper part of Pharaoh Amenhotep III besides a god represented as a hawk, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said. An alabaster sculpture was also discovered that might be the base of a statue of Amenhotep III, officials said. The discovery came as the team was working to lower ground waters in Luxor to preserve the city's pharaonic temples. Both statues are believed to date back to the famous 18th Dynasty, which ruled Egypt from 1550 until 1292 BC and whose best-known pharaoh is Tutankhamun.
