Statue of Ramesses II
The Statue of Ramesses II is a 3,200-year-old figure of Ramesses II, depicting him standing. It was discovered in 1820 by Giovanni Battista Caviglia at the Great Temple of Ptah near Memphis, Egypt. It is made from red granite.
The statue was found broken in six pieces and earlier attempts at restoration failed. In 1955, Egyptian Prime Minister Gamal Abdel Nasser moved it to the large Bab Al-Hadid Square in Cairo, outside Cairo’s main railway station; the square was then renamed Ramses Square. .
Over time Ramses Square turned out to be an unsuitable location, as the statue was exposed to corrosive pollution and constant vibration from traffic and subways.
The Egyptian government decided to relocate it to a more appropriate location in 2006. At a temporary site on the Giza Plateau it underwent restoration before being moved into the staircase close the entrance of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza in 2018.
There are other statues of Ramses II in Egypt and around the world on display
