Italian team discovers ancient lion statues in Egypt

0

The Great Sphinx of Giza, near modern-day Cairo, is pictured in 2008. Italian archaeologists have discovered two Greco-Roman statues at an ancient temple in Egypt, the antiquities minister said on Monday.

Italian archaeologists have discovered two Greco-Roman statues at an ancient temple in Egypt, the antiquities minister said on Monday.

The two seated lions adorned water spouts used as part of the drainage system from the roof of the Ptolemaic-era temple in Egypt’s Fayyum region, south of Cairo.

“The (Italian) delegation discovered two statues carved from sandstone… This find is the first discovery of statues of their kind used to adorn water spouts,” said Antiquities Minister Mohammed Ibrahim.

The head of the Italian team from Salento university, Mario Capasso, said the statues — almost a metre (yard) wide and a metre high — were “complete” and in “well-preserved condition, with intricately carved faces.