Ancient Egypt: Pieces of King Ramses II Statue Found in the Temple of Kom Ombo

Archaeologists in southern Egypt have uncovered pieces of a statue of King Ramses II, one of the country's most powerful pharaohs.

The parts were discovered in the Temple of Kom Ombo while a team was working to preserve the site and protect it from groundwater, the Associated Press reports. They found his chest and head, which featured a white crown of pharaonic Upper Egypt, according to Egypt Independent. He was also holding an Ankh symbol, which is the symbol of life and often seen in the hands of Egyptian gods.

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Prior to the discovery, there was limited evidence that the temple was used or even existed during the ancient Egyptian modern state-era. However, pieces of the statue that have been unearthed, shed light on the temple's long history.

Archaeologists plan to continue digging up the site, in hopes of coming across the rest of the massive statue. Before it was destroyed, the statue likely stood nearly 23 feet tall, Mohamed Abdel Badei, head of the Central Administration of Upper Egypt, told Egypt Independent.

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King Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great, reigned from 1279 B.C. to 1213 B.C. He's best-known for his powerful military who fought in the Battle of Kadesh.

"In 1275, only three years or so after taking the throne, he began to plan a campaign to get Kadesh back. The city had become more than a battlefront; it was a symbolic football kicked back and forth between empires," historian Susan Wise Bauer explained, according to the Ancient History Encyclopedia.

He's believed to have died in his early 90s, which is a long life for someone today, but was even more exceptional for a person back then.