Colossal Ancient Egyptian Statue Unearthed In Cairo Slum

It could be as tall as 30 feet and likely depicts Pharaoh Ramses II.

Among his many other noble titles, Pharaoh Ramses II could soon add one more honorific: the ultimate slumdog millionaire.

Archaeologists have discovered a massive statue that likely depicts the ancient Egyptian ruler submerged in the groundwater of a Cairo area slum. The sculpture, believed to be some 3,000 years old, lies in Matariya, near the ruins of the ancient city of Heliopolis.

A team of Egyptian and German researchers began excavating the quartzite sculpture, estimated to stand 26 to 30 feet tall, on Thursday.

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An Egyptian worker stands next to the head of a massive statue that may portray Ramses II on March 9, 2017
KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images

The discovery caps an archeological study of the area that had begun in 2012, CNN reports. The dig was just wrapping up having found little else of great import.

The statue “was in an area that was almost completely investigated,” Dietrich Raue from the University of Leipzig, one of the partners in the dig, told CNN. “We thought [the pit] would be empty without any features ... so that was a great surprise.”

Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great, ruled from 1279 to 1213 BCE. In that time, he greatly expanded the reach of the Egyptian empire, to as far east as modern-day Syria and as far south as current-day Sudan, according to National Geographic.

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Workers help uncover the torso of what's likely a statue of Ramses II.
Ibrahim Ramadan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

This latest find ranks among the most important ever, the Egyptian minister of antiquities, Khaled al-Anani, told Reuters. And, with apologies to the Sphinx, it was right under their noses the whole time. 

“The sun god created the world in Heliopolis, in Matariya. That’s what I always tell the people here when they say is there anything important. According to the pharaonic belief, the world was created in Matariya,” Raue told Reuters. 

“That means everything had to be built here. Statues, temples, obelisks, everything. But ... the king never lived in Matariya, because it was the sun god living here.”

A much smaller statue, believed to depict Ramses’ grandson Seti II, was also found at the site. Assuming the two finds can be unearthed and restored, Reuters reports they’ll be displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum, set to open in 2018.

Massive, Ancient Statue Found In Cairo Slum
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An Egyptian man walks past the site of a new discovery by a team of German and Egyptian archeologists in Cairo's Matariya district on March 9, 2017. (credit:KHALED DESOUKI via Getty Images)
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An Egyptian worker stands next to the unearthed head of an enormous statue likely depicting Ramses II. Sculptures of the kings and queens of the nineteenth dynasty (1295 - 1185 BC) were unearthed in the vicinity of the Temple of Ramses II in what was the old Pharaonic city. (credit:KHALED DESOUKI via Getty Images)
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Workers prepare to lift parts of the enormous statue on March 9, 2017. (credit:Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)
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(credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Egyptian workers prepare to lift parts of a statue that likely depicts Ramses II, who ruled Egypt over 3,000 years ago. (credit:Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters)
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The head of the quartzite colossus is lifted out of the water-filled pit. (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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People gather around the excavated head. (credit:KHALED DESOUKI via Getty Images)
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(credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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The statue lies in a pit filled with groundwater. (credit:Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters)
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(credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Egypt's Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani (left) visits the archaeological site on March 9, 2017. (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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