埃及再添两座巨型法老神像

埃及再添两座巨型法老神像

Two more colossal pharaoh statues unveiled in Egypt

ALuxor (Egypt) (AFP) - Archaeologists on Sunday unveiled two colossal statues of Pharaoh menhotep III in Egypt's famed temple city of Luxor, adding to an existing pair of world-renowned tourist attractions.

The two monoliths in red quartzite were raised at what European and Egyptian archaeologists said were their original sites in the funerary temple of the king, on the west bank of the Nile.

The temple is already famous for its existing 3,400-year-old Memnon colossi -- twin statues of Amenhotep III whose reign archaeologists say marked the political and cultural zenith of ancient Egyptian civilisation.

"The world until now knew two Memnon colossi, but from today it will know four colossi of Amenhotep III," said German-Armenian archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian, who heads the project to conserve the Amenhotep III temple.

The existing two statues, both showing the pharaoh seated, are known across the globe.

The two restored additions have weathered severe damage for centuries, Sourouzian said.

"The statues had lain in pieces for centuries in the fields, damaged by destructive forces of nature like earthquake, and later by irrigation water, salt, encroachment and vandalism," she said, as behind her excavators and local villagers washed pieces of artefacts and statues unearthed over the past months.

This beautiful temple still has enough for us to study and conserve."

One of the "new" statues -- its body weighing 250 tonnes -- again depicts the pharaoh seated, hands resting on his knees.

It is 11.5 metres (38 feet) tall, with a base 1.5 metres high and 3.6 metres wide.

Archaeologists said with its now missing double crown, the original statue would have reached a height of 13.5 metres and weighed 450 tonnes.

The king is depicted wearing a royal pleated kilt held at the waist by a large belt decorated with zigzag lines.

- Well-preserved alabaster head -

Beside his right leg stands nearly a complete figure of Amenhotep III's wife Tiye, wearing a large wig and a long tight-fitting dress.

A statue of queen mother Mutemwya, originally beside his left leg, is missing, archaeologists said.

The throne itself is decorated on each side with scenes from that era, showing the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The second statue, of Amenhotep III standing, has been installed at the north gate of the temple.

The team of archaeologists also showed several other ancient pieces of what they said were parts of other statues of the ancient ruler and his relatives, including a well-preserved alabaster head from another Amenhotep III statue.

"This piece is unique, it is rare, because there are not many alabaster statues in the world," Sourouzian told AFP.

The head, shown briefly to some reporters and fellow excavators, has also weathered centuries of damage.

Its nose, eyes and ears are intact, and some signs of restoration centuries ago are clearly evident, archaeologists said.

Close to the head lies a statue of Princess Iset, Amenhotep III's daughter.

Sourouzian said the aim of her team's work was to preserve these monuments and the temple itself, which according to her had suffered at the hands of "nature and mankind".

"Every ruin, every monument has its right to be treated decently," said Sourouzian, whose dream as a student was to conserve the Amenhotep III temple.

"The idea is to stop the dismantling of monuments and keep them at their sites," she said, adding that what was required was steady "international funding" to conserve such world heritage sites.

The ongoing work to conserve the Amenhotep III temple is entirely funded through what she said were "private and international donations".

Pharaoh Amenhotep III inherited an empire that spanned from the Euphrates to Sudan, archaeologists say, and he was able to maintain Egypt's position mainly through diplomacy.

The 18th dynasty ruler became king at the age of around 12, with his mother as regent.

Amenhotep III died in around 1354 BC and was succeeded by his son Amenhotep IV, widely known as Akhenaten.

Luxor, a city of some 500,000 people on the banks of the Nile in southern Egypt, is an open-air museum of intricate temples and pharaonic tombs.

据美国媒体报道，考古学家于日前在埃及著名的卢克索神庙揭幕两尊法老蒙特霍普三世的巨型雕像。

雕像所采用的两块红色石英岩来自尼罗河西岸，欧洲人和埃及人认为这里是埋葬法老寺庙的原址。

卢克索神庙本身由于其现有的3400年的门农巨像就已世界闻名，是阿蒙特霍普三世的巨像的双胞胎雕像，考古学家认为其统治时期标志了古埃及文明中政治和文化的巅峰。

“世界如今只知道两座门农巨像，但是从今天起将会是四座阿蒙特霍普三世的雕像了。”德籍亚美尼亚考古学家霍里润·萨鲁奇安说，他是阿蒙特霍普三世神庙保护项目领队。

现有的两座法老坐像都已世界闻名。

另外两座如今修复好的神像都是在千年之中遭风化严重破坏的，萨鲁奇安说。

“这两座雕像的碎片在荒野之中已躺了数千年，遭受各种自然灾害，像是地震，还有灌溉水、盐、风力侵蚀还有人为破坏等等。”她说，在过去数月中，她不断挖掘出碎片，由当地村民洗净这些出土的文物雕像。

这座美丽的神庙还有很多值得我们去保护和学习。

新修复的神像中，有一具重达250吨，为法老端坐，手放膝头。

这座神像高11.5米（38英尺），底座高1.5米，宽3.6米。

考古学家表示加上神像缺失的双皇冠，原石像本应高13.5米，重达450吨。

这座神像身着皇家褶裙，腰间佩戴一条大腰带，上面装饰有锯齿形线条。

—保存完好的汉白玉头—

在神像的右腿边站着的是阿蒙霍特普三世的妻子泰伊王后，戴着一顶大假发，身穿紧身长裙。

考古学家说，在神像左腿处还应有一尊母后的雕像，但还未找到。

王座本身每边都装饰有那个时代的场景，表现出上下埃及的统一。

第二尊巨像是站着的阿蒙霍特普三世，被放置在神庙的北门。

该组考古学家还展示了数件其他古雕像的碎片，据他们说，这是古代统治者及家人的雕像碎片，包括了一个保存完好的另一尊阿蒙霍特普三世的汉白玉头颅。

“这一块非常特别，很稀有，因为世界上并没有很多这样由汉白玉制成的头颅。”萨鲁奇安称。

这个头颅也已经遭受了千年风化的侵袭，一些记者和同行有幸简要地参观了一下。

其鼻子、眼睛和耳朵都完好，但还保留有千年前的修复痕迹，考古学家说。

在近头部的地方还有一尊阿蒙霍特普女儿的雕像。

萨鲁奇安说他们小组的工作是为了保护这些遗迹和神庙本身，她说这些都遭受了各种来自自然和人类的摧残。

“每一座废墟，每一个遗迹，都应得到良好对待。”她说。她还说需要的是持续的国际经济支撑来保护这样的世界遗产。

目前，阿蒙霍特普三世神庙的保护工作全部由个人和国际捐款来资助。

法老阿蒙霍特普三世的王朝从幼发拉底河延伸到苏丹。考古学家说，他主要是靠外交来延续埃及的地位的。

这位第18代王朝统治者在12岁左右当上国王，由他的母亲摄政。

阿蒙霍特普三世于公元前1354年左右去世，由他的儿子阿蒙霍特普四世，也就是阿肯那顿继承王位。

卢克索，这样一个南埃及尼罗河岸有着50万人口的城市，堪称有着复杂的神庙和法老墓的露天博物馆。

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