WATANI International
20 February 2011
A 7cm-long, coloured limestone statue of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, who reigned around 1350BC and is famous as the father of atheism, has been found. The statue had been stolen, together with eight other pieces, from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square during the 18-day demonstrations which began on 25 January. On an alabaster base, it depicts the pharaoh standing in a blue fiance crown and holding an offering tablet. This find brings the pieces that have been found so far up to four.
Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawwas said the statue was found in Tahrir Square by a 16-year-old student, cast on the ground near a trash can. The young man took it home where his mother realised it was a piece of antiquity. She called her brother Sabry Abdel-Rahman, a professor at the American University in Cairo, who called the authorities and handed over the statue to them.