Homeowner Makes Priceless 3,000-Year-Old Discovery in Garden

Not bad for a day of home improvement.

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Archaeologists have confirmed that a man’s mysterious find while moving earth outside his home is part of an ancient 28-foot statue. The man was digging outside his home in the village of Behebat al-Hijara in the Gharbia Governorate of Egypt when he unwittingly stumbled across a Piece of King Ramses II’s likeness. Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said the discovery led to the unearthing of two statues and a pink granite stone covered in inscriptions. Inspectors attended the scene and said the piece the man found was archaeologically significant, sparking an excavation by the Supreme Council of Antiquities. One of the two statues is of Ramses II, who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, the ministry said. Archaeologists believe the second may also depict him. The first statue includes a head of Ramses that is 5 feet 3 inches tall and wears a double crown, according to the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Hisham El-Lithi. Based on the head’s size, experts think the full statue would have been 28 feet tall.

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