A stone block found on private land has led archaeologists to two monumental royal statues and a fresh glimpse of the ancient history buried beneath a village in Egypt’s Nile Delta.
The Egyptian team, working for the Supreme Council of Antiquities, uncovered the remains during rescue excavations in Behbeit El Hagar, in Gharbia province. One statue is identified as Ramesses II; the second is also thought to depict the celebrated pharaoh.
The discovery began when a resident found a carved stone block while working on land in front of his home. He alerted antiquities officials, who inspected the site and launched an excavation. Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities minister, Sherif Fathy, praised the man for reporting the find, calling public awareness vital to protecting the country’s heritage.
The most striking piece so far is a 1.6-metre-high head of Ramesses II, shown wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. A fragment from the statue’s back pillar bears part of the king’s Horus name. From the head’s scale, archaeologists estimate the complete statue may once have stood about 8.5 metres tall, including its base.
Nearby, excavators found the larger surviving section of a second royal statue, measuring about 2.4 metres. It is missing its legs and base, but its face remains clearly visible. The king wears the nemes, the striped royal headdress, and the statue’s features resemble those of the first figure.
A 1.3-metre block of pink granite found close by carries fragments of hieroglyphic inscriptions naming Ramesses II as King of Upper and Lower Egypt and Son of Ra.
The finds are still being studied, and excavations are continuing. Archaeologists say further work could help establish how the statues relate to one another and to the site’s ancient buildings.
Behbeit El Hagar is already known for the remains of a major temple dedicated to Isis, as well as granite architectural blocks. The new discoveries add to evidence of the area’s importance in ancient Egypt, and began with one resident choosing to report a stone rather than leave it unnoticed.
