Queen Ti unearthed by Colossi of Memnon

An Egyptian-European excavation team on the west bank in Luxor recently found a statue of Queen Ti, wife of Amenhotep III and the mother of Akhnaten.

The statue, which dates back to the l4th century BC, will soon be completely unearthed with the help of experts from the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA).

The statue was found in the course of excavations in vicinity of the Colossi of Memnon, which were originally part of a funerary temple to Amenhotep III.

Zahi Hawas, Secretary-General of the SCA said a l00-ton red granite statue of Amenhotep lies on the ground by the second pylon of the Amenhotep temple.

The team has been working on the site since l998 to save the Memnon statues.

One of the members of the team described the three-meter high statue of Queen Ti as a "marvel of sculpture."

Ti was one of the few queens whose statues were placed life-size beside the king's.