Cairo mud pit yields two pharaoh statues more than 3,000 years old

A statue workers say depicts Pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled Egypt over

3,000 years ago, was unearthed on Thursday in the Matariya area in Cairo. REUTERS

CAIRO – Archaeologists in a muddy pit in a Cairo suburb on Thursday uncovered two pharaonic statues dating back more than 3,000 years.

The relics were found in Mattarya district, site of the ancient Pharaonic capital of Heliopolis and today a sprawl of working and middle class districts in northeastern Cairo.

The statues, discovered on wasteland between crumbling apartment blocks, are thought to represent Pharaohs from the 19th dynasty, which ruled from 1314 to 1200 BC.

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