Sphinx statues unearthed in Luxor

Aug 15, 2008, 14:47 GMT

Cairo - An archeological mission of the Egyptian Higher Council of Antiquities (EHCA) discovered on Friday four headless statues of the Sphinx, the mythical creature most famously represented at the pyramid complex at Giza.

The statues were discovered on the ancient road connecting temples at Luxor and Karnak in southern Egypt-also known as the 'Avenue of the Sphinxes.'

According to Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the EHCA, the sandstone statues belonged to King Nakhtnebef, the founder of the 30th Pharaonic dynasty (363-380 BC).

'The mission has found these statues during excavations in the area that lies between Khaled Ibn al-Waleed and the Luxor temples in the east bank of the Nile. They were under the remains of a police station that was recently demolished,' Hawass told reporters.

The team also excavated Ptolemic and Roman buildings along with a sandstone block that carries a cartouche (a royal title) of famed Queen Cleopatra, the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt.

The EHCA is currently coordinating with the Higher Council of Luxor as part of a 100,000 Egyptian pound (18,800 dollars) project to reclaim all areas between the Luxor and Karnak temples and to rescue the antiquities that surround the avenue of Sphinxes.

The area had previously been covered by modern buildings. Twenty Sphinx statues were discovered at the site in 2007, and archeologists expect many more to be unearthed.