Statue head of King Tut's grandfather found in Luxor

Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed a colossal statue head of the pharaoh whom DNA tests revealed last week was King Tutankhamun's grandfather, the government said on Sunday.

The red granite head of King Amenhotep III, part of a larger 3,000 year-old statue, was discovered at the site of the pharaoh's funerary temple in Luxor, Egypt's culture ministry said in a statement.

"The newly discovered head is intact and measures 2.5 metres (8.2 foot) high," antiquities chief Zahi Hawass was quoted as saying.

"It is a masterpiece of highly artistic quality and shows a portrait of the king with very fine youthful sculptured features," Hawass said, adding there were still traces of red paint on the head.

The artefact belongs to a large statue of the king standing with his hands crossed over his chest and holding the royal insignia, said Hourig Sourouzian who headed the team of archaeologists that made the find.

In recent years, a large quantity of red granite statue pieces have been uncovered at Amenhotep III's funerary temple at Kom al-Hitan on Luxor's west bank.

Amenhotep III ruled Egypt between 1390 and 1352 BC.
He was almost certainly the grandfather of Tutankhamun, according to the results of DNA tests and computerised tomography (CT) scans on the famed boy king's mummy announced by scientists on February 17.

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