An Egyptian archaeological mission has discovered a sphinx-shaped limestone statue that may represent Emperor Claudius (10 BC-AD 54) who ruled Egypt at the time, east of the Dendera temple in the south of the country, they reported. this Monday (06.03.2023) official sources.
The sphinx was found inside a hut that Egyptian experts say belongs to Emperor Claudius: “The remains of the hut are a platform consisting of two levels and sloping floors, within which a water storage tank was found.” highlighted the head of the mission, Mamduh al Damati, in a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities.
During the cleaning of that deposit, a limestone statue in the shape of a sphinx was found that “represents one of the Roman emperors,” said Al Damati, who was the minister of Antiquities in Egypt.
He indicated that the head of the statue, which, according to the photos released by the ministry, is practically intact, wears the funerary headdress known as Nemes with a cobra on the forehead, an outfit used by the Egyptian pharaohs when they were represented as deceased kings. .
“Initial examination of the face indicates that it is likely to be that of Emperor Claudius,” said the head of the mission at the Egyptian University of Ain Shams.
The Egyptian ministry stressed that the mission will continue the excavation work in the area in order to discover the path that connects the temple of Horus with the temple of Dendera, one of the best preserved in Egypt.
Last January, another Egyptian archaeological mission announced the discovery of “a complete residential city” from the time of the Roman Empire during excavation work on the east bank of the Nile River, in the southern historic city of Luxor.