An unexpected find beneath farmland opens new questions about ancient Egypt.
GHARBIA
An Egyptian cucumber farmer has helped uncover the remains of two monumental royal statues in the Nile Delta, including a massive sculpture identified as Pharaoh Ramses II. The discovery, made near the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Isis, is offering archaeologists new evidence of royal activity in a region whose archaeological history remains incompletely understood.
Khaled Khalil discovered a carved stone on land outside his home in Behbeit el-Hagar, a village in Egypt’s Gharbia governorate. Rather than attempting to remove or sell the object, he contacted antiquities authorities, prompting an examination and subsequent rescue excavation by specialists from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The excavation revealed a royal head approximately 1.6 meters tall, depicting Ramses II wearing the double crown symbolizing the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Researchers also recovered part of the statue’s rear supporting pillar, which carries the pharaoh’s Horus name, an element of the formal royal titulary used in ancient Egypt.
Hisham el-Leithy, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, indicated that the proportions of the surviving head suggest the complete monument may once have reached approximately 8.5 meters in height, including its base.
That figure is an archaeological estimate. The entire statue has not been recovered, and its original dimensions must be reconstructed from the surviving material.
A second sculpture, represented by a fragment measuring approximately 2.4 meters, was discovered nearby. Although its legs and base are missing, its facial features remain relatively well preserved.
The figure wears a traditional nemes headdress and resembles the confirmed representation of Ramses II. Archaeologists consider it possible that the second sculpture also depicts the pharaoh, but its identification remains provisional.
Another important find is a pink granite block approximately 1.3 meters long, bearing hieroglyphic inscriptions that include royal titles associated with Ramses II.
The pharaoh ruled during Egypt’s 19th Dynasty, from approximately 1279 to 1213 BCE. His reign was characterized by extensive construction projects, military campaigns and the establishment of monumental representations of royal authority.
Behbeit el-Hagar is particularly significant because of its association with an important sanctuary dedicated to Isis. Establishing the relationship between the newly discovered sculptures and that religious complex could help researchers reconstruct the site’s development across different historical periods.
The discovery also demonstrates the importance of cooperation between local communities and archaeological institutions. Agricultural land and modern settlements sometimes occupy areas containing ancient structures that have never been systematically excavated.
Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy subsequently visited Khalil to acknowledge his decision to report the discovery. The farmer and his wife were offered a pilgrimage to Mecca as recognition.
The archaeological investigation is continuing, with specialists seeking to determine the original placement of the sculptures and their relationship to the surrounding remains.
For Egypt, the fragments represent more than additional examples of monumental sculpture. They preserve evidence of how royal imagery, religious authority and regional landscapes interacted more than three millennia ago.
A chance discovery on an ordinary agricultural plot has now opened another chapter in the study of ancient Egyptian civilization, demonstrating how much of its material history may still remain beneath inhabited land.
When Evidence Speaks, Narratives Change.