3,000-year-old pharaoh statue found in Cairo suburb

The statue is believed to be of Rames the Great which was buried under mud in a Cairo suburb

The three-tonne torso section of a massive statue of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh has been found and recovered from under the ground in Cairo, The Independent reported.

The statue, believed to be of Ramses the Great, could be 3,000 years old. It was buried under the mud in a Cairo suburb.

Part of its head was lifted earlier last week and once it is completely recovered, it will be pieced together and moved to the Egyptian Museum.

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Ramses II ruled Egypt for 60 years and was one of the longest reigning pharaohs. He spread the empire fro Syria to Sudan, thus achieving the title of ‘Ramses the Great’. His statue was discovered a week ago by a German-Egyptian archaeological team in Cairo.

Egyptian Antiques Minister Khaled al-Anani revealed he was asked last week "to announce the big discovery of a colossus of a king, most probably Ramses II, made out of quartzite".

The archaeological team has also discovered part of a life-sized statue of Pharaoh Seti II, Ramses II's grandson. The recovered limestone section is 80cm long.