A big discovery of the strong and famous ruler in ancient Egypt

 Dr. Ayman Waziry

Vice-Chairman of the Union of the Egyptian Archaeologists – Egypt

A quartzite statue of the king Ramses II who born almost 1303 B.C, ruled between 1279 –1213 B.C and died about 1213 B.C. He known also as Ramses the Great and called as “Great Ancestor” by his successors of the Egyptians rulers. Habitually, he is considered as the greatest, most famous, and most strong pharaoh of the new kingdom; he was the third of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and almost reigned since 1279 till 1213 B.C. The fragments of Ramses II statue is found in El Matareya district in the northern region of Greater Cairo, east of the Nile, in Egypt. El Matareya is an important archaeological site of the ancient capital of Iwnw/ Heliopolis. The ruins of Iwnw / Heliopolis, which means “city of the sun” in ancient Greek, are located in the north eastern part of modern-day Cairo. It is believed that the sun temple in Iwnw/Heliopolis was established by Ramses II, so the statue found on the ancient site of the old city; Iwnw/ Heliopolis/ El Matareya district.

Ancient Egyptians believed that Iwnw/ Heliopolis was the place where the sun god lives, and it was important site of one of the largest temples  in ancient Egypt, almost duplicate the size of Luxor’s Karnak, but was destroyed in Greco-Roman eras.  Moreover, a large number of its obelisks were moved to Alexandria or to Europe and stones from the site were stolen and used for buildings.