The statue was found submerged in water within a Cairo slum, the working class area of Matariya among unfinished buildings and roads.
The statue is measured at an impressive 26 feet, and the discovery is being hailed as one of the most important discoveries in years by the Antiquities Ministry.
Ramses II ruled over Egypt around 3,000 years ago, and is widely considered one of the most powerful pharaohs. It is believed he ruled between 1279 to 1213 BCE.
“Last Tuesday they called me to announce the big discovery of a colossus of a king, most probably Ramses II, made out of quartzite,” said Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani.
“We found the bust of the statue and the lower part of the head and now we removed the head and we found the crown and the right ear and a fragment of the right eye.”
Another smaller statue was also found, believed to be of Pharaoh Seti II, who is Ramses II’s grandson.
Teams are now carefully attempting to extract the find, and if all goes well, it will be on display in the new Grand Egyptian Museum which is set to open in 2018.
