Archaeologists in Egypt's Nile Delta have uncovered the remains of two colossal royal statues, one firmly identified as the pharaoh Ramses II, the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced on October 13. The discovery followed a villager's report of an inscribed stone block found while working land in front of his home in Behbeit el-Hagar, Gharbia Governorate. The headline find is a limestone head about 1.6 metres high depicting the king wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Part of the statue's back pillar survives, bearing his Horus name, Hor Ka Nakht Mery Maat, meaning Horus, Strong Bull, Beloved of Maat. From the head's proportions, archaeologists estimate the complete monument, base included, stood about 8.5 metres tall. Nearby, the team recovered a 2.4-metre section of a second royal statue, missing its legs and base but with a remarkably well-preserved face beneath the striped nemes headdress. Its resemblance to the first figure suggests it too depicts Ramses II, the 19th-Dynasty ruler who reigned from around 1279 to 1213 BC. A 1.3-metre block of pink granite carried hieroglyphs naming him King of Upper and Lower Egypt and Son of Ra. Excavations are continuing to establish how the statues relate to each other and to the site's later buildings. Council secretary-general Hisham El-Leithy confirmed the work and study are ongoing. More than three thousand years after his reign, the monumental presence of Ramses the Great continues to emerge from Egyptian soil. Tourism and antiquities minister Sherif Fathy praised the resident who reported the carved block, saying public awareness is vital to protecting the country's heritage. The village is already known for a major temple dedicated to Isis, and archaeologists hope the statues will shed new light on the region's ancient history.