TRACING THE DISCOVERY OF THE TEMPLE OF AMENOPHIS III

In Luxor, the colossi of Memnon, on the left bank of the river Nile, marked the entrance to the biggest temple ever to be constructed by a Pharaoh, the temple of Amenophis III. Since early 2000, an international team led by Hourig Sourouzian, an Egyptologist specialising in the sculpture of the Pharaohs, is bringing back to life this temple, whose remains, with the exception of the two Memnon colossi, have all but disappeared. Thus, the team have unearthed another six colossi, each measuring more than 10 metres in height, as well as more than 130 statues of sekhmets, the goddesses bearing a lion’s head on a female body, each of them about two meters tall. In addition, many sphinxes, royal statues and other relics have been found. Filmed since 2004, we follow all the major phases of this project, which has served to highlight these spectacular discoveries, realising in the process the grandiose character of this temple, constructed by a Pharaoh in times of peace and prosperity.