The Ministry of Antiquities announced discovering 27 statues of the ancient Egyptian goddess Sekhmet on Saturday in King Amenhotep III Temple on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor. According to the Ministry of Antiquities' official Facebook page, the discovery saw the light on the hands of an Egyptian-European archaeological mission, as a part of the excavation work in the site. The unearthed statues were reportedly carved from black granite, with different heights, the tallest of which reached 2 metres. Some of the statues represented goddess Sekhmet sitting on a throne holding the symbol of life in her left hand, while others portrayed her standing with a papyrus sceptre in her hands near her chest. As for their condition, Head of the Egyptian-European archaeological mission Hourig Sourouzian said that "the condition of the statues varies. Some of them are in a well-preserved condition, found in upper layers of the earth, and others are in bad condition, as they were found in the lower layers of the ground." The mission is now carrying out the works of archaeological cleaning and conservation of the collection discovered, in preparation for display at their original site when the project is completed, she added.
