Statue of Goddess Mut unearthed south of Karnak Temple
Egypt, History, 12/3/2001

Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) mission unearthed south of the karnak temple a black granite statue of Mut, the goddess of maternity, and a sandstone plaque with a hieroglyphic that dates back to the era of king RamsesIII, the founder o 20th Pharaonic dynasty (1185-1070 BC.), encarved on it.

SCA Secretary-General Gaballah Ali Gaballah said the find was made during excavations in the mut temple for restoration purposes, adding the upper part of goddess mut is in the shape of a woman and the face of a lioness.

With further excavations, a plaque of gifts of Ramses-nakht, the minister of king Ramses III court, was also found.

The plaque is 210 centimeters high, 105 centimeters wide and 55 centimeters thick and has relief engravings on its face of the holy triangle of Thebes: god Amun, his wife Mut and son khinsu.

The plaque also has an engraving of king ramses presenting offerings to the Holy Triangle in the presence of several gods and goddesses like Isis, Hat-Hor, Ra-Horakhti and led by goddess Wasassas, a rarely mentioned goddess in the ancient Egyptian texts and used to be represented in the form of a cobra and her name was linked to king RamsesIII.

Gabr Abdel Aziz, Director of Luxor antiquities, said there was another relief engraving of 13 horizontal lines in the back of the plaque, which refers to the owner of the plaque, his titles and gifts offered to the Holy Triangle of Thebes in the honour of king RamsesIII.

Gaballah said Culture Minister Farouk Hosni recommended putting the statue and the plaque on display at Luxor museum.

Previous Stories:
  Fatimid mosque to be opened in Bahnasa after restoration   (12/1/2001)
  Ancient military warehouse unearthed in North Sinai   (11/30/2001)
  Work on dismantling Hebes Temple still going on despite suspension orders   (11/30/2001)

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