The Egyptian-German archaeological mission, headed by Dr. Hourig Sourouzian, discovered a large statue of the god Horus. The discovery took place during the mission’s excavation inside the colonnade hall of the mortuary temple—or, as the ancient Egyptians called it—the Temple of Millions of Years of King Amenhotep III in Kom al‑Hittan, Luxor.

          Mr. Fathy Yassin, Director General of Antiquities in West Luxor, explained that the discovered statue is made of black granite and that it is 1.85 meters tall. It depicts the god Horus in his human, but falcon‑headed form, wearing a kilt. Its arms and legs are broken.

          Dr. Hourig Sourouzian stated that this discovery is part of the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project, which began in 1998 under the supervision of the Ministry of Antiquities and the German Archaeological Institute. The project aims to preserve the remains of the temple and reconstruct it. She noted that the discovered statue is preserved in good condition, and is of important artistic, scientific, and archaeological value. It will contribute to our understanding of the temple’s history, especially after its collapse due to a devastating earthquake in the twenty‑eighth century BC. Its stones were used to build temples and other royal statues in the Ramesside period. The statue is now undergoing restoration and the mission will continue to excavate to search for the statue’s legs. The mission also discovered busts of some deities.

          It is worth noting that the mission had previously discovered many huge statues of deities and King Amenhotep III and his wife Queen Tiye on the same site. This is in addition to a large number of statues depicting the goddess Sekhmet, which were placed in many contexts. It is known that Amenhotep III had erected a large number of statues of this goddess in his mortuary temple for protection. As the deity whose name means the "Powerful (Goddess)", she would defend Amenhotep III’s temple against any danger, and also protect the king himself from disease, and heal him.