Egyptian antiquities workers have completed a year-long restoration project on the statue of Thutmose II, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said on Monday.
The 10.5-metre structure, the largest of the three statues of the pharaoh in Egypt, is one of the highlights of Luxor’s famed Karnak Temple, the country's second most visited archaeological site after the Giza pyramids.
The statue’s restoration began in August of last year and was set to be completed in January, but it was delayed.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, expressed his pride on Monday over the project’s completion because it was completed by an all-Egyptian team.
The statue, made entirely of quartzite rock, had been so severely damaged over the years that the pharaoh’s torso had completely come off the main structure, so visitors to the temple would merely see a pair of giant stone legs sitting on a throne.
Abdel Hakim Al Badry, director of restoration at Karnak, said that the Thutmose II project began with a “mechanical cleaning” of the statue to remove dirt and traces of mud from various parts, some of which had fallen out of place.
Furthermore, disassembled parts of the statue were reconnected and secured, while cracks in the structure were injected with various kinds of adhesive paste, Dr Al Badry explained.
A chemical cleaning was also required to remove traces of bird droppings from the statue.
The ministry said that it had followed internationally approved restoration protocols throughout the project.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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