Luxor

Possibly an extension of the temple of Karnak. This is an interesting site mostly constructed of sandstone but there are some granodiorite statues the are at the front entrance. While staring at the carvings I noticed some huge chunks removed from the statue. After a look over the “giant key-stone cuts” I discovered, it looks as if the builders or secondary carvers discovered a crack in the colossal statue and then created the keystone cuts to house either a molded metal or a molded stone to repair the damage.

After looking over the statue some more and getting my discovery confirmed by Yousef Awyan and Mohamed Ibrahim I discovered that there were other cuts up the back, on the arm and finally at the top of the head. This work could have been done in dynastic or pre-dynastic times depending on the era of the original building. As there is inferior work engraved over to the superior work of this sculpture it has at least gone through one or two usurps over time… construction, original carving, secondary carvings, etc.

As the sun set, the temple is brought to life by light. Sadly it was converted into a mosque some years ago, which used to sit at sand level until the temple structure beneath was re-discovered.

Walking around the open air museum, I discovered 2 out of place artifacts—OOPArt. A footprint, similar to what is found in Nepal and India, that is at least a size 16 or 17 shoe or a foot and a few inches long. Also found was a lion headed altar, that seems more familiar with South America than with Egypt.

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