Statues of war goddess found in southern Egyptian temple

Cairo - Six statues of the Egyptian goddess of war, Sekhmet, have been discovered at the Amenhotep III Temple on the West bank of Luxor, 700 kilometres south of Cairo, Egyptian experts said Monday.

The photo released by the Egyptian Supreme Council on Antiquities on Monday 06 March 2006 shows a statue of lion-headed Goddess Sekhmet that were recently discovered by a team of German and Spanish archaeologists from The Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project in ancient Thebes near Luxor in Upper Egypt. Sekhmet meaning 'the powerful' was believed to represent the protective mother of the monarch and help the king to fight against his enemies. There have been 20 of these Sekhmet statues found in the temple complex of Amenhotep III. EPA/SUPREME COUNCIL ON ANTIQUITIES HOHead of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, Zahi Hawas, said that the statues, sculpted in dark granite, portray Sekhmet seated on a throne and holding the symbol of life. The statues, which were found in good condition, were discovered by a German excavation team. Hawas said three of the statues were found intact and were crowned with the sun disc, while the upper part of the fourth Sekhmet statue is still covered. The fifth and sixth statues are partly conserved up to the waist raising speculation that a bust found by the mission last season would fit onto one of them. The parts that Hawas vowed would be reassembled will be put on display in the future museum in planning. Head of the mission Hourig Sourouzian said that this cache is the seventh to be found by their team during excavation efforts in the Peristyle Court. The six statues were spread in the northern half of the east portico of the court, where they had been buried underneath the temple ground. The German mission had uncovered during their excavation work in the same temple 30 statues for the goddess Sekhmet, who is mainly known as the goddess of war. Sekhmet symbolizes power, glory and aggressiveness and at the same time, she signifies the tender mother of the king. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur