The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities released photos of a giant statue of Egypt’s famous pharaoh Amenhotep III at his mortuary temple in the southern city of Luxor, the antiquities authority said was discovered by archaeologists.

The 13-metre-tall statue was found buried in seven pieces at the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III at Kom al-Hitan.

It was one of two statues placed at the northern entrance of the temple, and was probably destroyed during an earthquake in 27 BC, the antiquities authority statement said.

“The archaeological team is now working to clean, restore and collect the seven pieces and find the head of the statue,” the statement said.

It also said it was hoped the statue’s twin would be unearthed soon.

Amenhotep III, who ruled Egypt between 1390 and 1352 BC, is the father of Akhenaten, the “heretic pharaoh” considered a precursor of monotheism because he tried to impose the exclusive worship of Aten.

With a reign of some 39 years Amenhotep III is one of the most important kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The king built or rebuilt many temples in the country (Luxor, Memphis, Elkab, Armant). At Thebes he had a vast temple constructed to his own cult on the West Bank; the colossal statues (known as the Colossi of Memmon, before the en-trance) are the most monumental elements still standing.

He also built at Thebes a palace complex (Malqata) which was until the 1900s relatively well preserved. The king issued a number of scarabs with longer inscriptions describing events of his reign.

His main wife was Tiy, who seems to have played an important part in the reign. She appears on monuments more often and more prominently than virtually any queen before her. There are several letters known from the Amarna correspondence, demonstrating the close diplomatic contact of the royal courts at this time.