Granite statue of Pharaoh Menkaure

Granite statue of Pharaoh Menkaure

The triad of statues depicts Pharaoh Menkaura of the 4th Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Menkaura stands in the center wearing a tall white Egyptian crown hedjet. To his right left in the image the goddess Hathor wearing a crown with bull horns and a sun disc stands to his left right in the image representing a nome. These statues made of graywacke date back to approximately 2,400 BC and are currently on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. These statues were discovered hidden beneath the sand in the Menkaura Valley temple on the Giza plateau when a local worker pointed out a shallow pit containing the stone heads of the pharaoh and queen. The discovery included the famous pair of statues of Menkaura and his queen. And three more statues made of graywack stone.

 The following details the historical excavations and the famous statues. Between 1908 and 1910 an expedition from Harvard and Boston universities led by archaeologist George Reisner discovered a large group of remarkably well-preserved Old Kingdom statues in the Temple Valley of the Menkaure pyramid complex at Giza.

The excavation uncovered a triad of statues of Pharaoh Menkaura of the 4th Dynasty of ancient Egypt made of graywacke dating to approximately 2,400 BC and currently on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Pharaoh Menkaura of the Fourth Dynasty is known as the builder and former occupant of the third and smallest of the three pyramids at Giza. His reign was also notable for its artistic talents even early in Egyptian history. Among the Old Kingdom pharaohs only the earlier Pharaoh Chephren and the slightly younger Pharaoh Djoser have large statues surviving. Menkaura has three similar statues believed to be modern gods. It is believed there were eight in total each an Egyptian dwarf. A significant place of worship for Hathor the three statues have carvings discovered in the ruins of the Menkaura Temple in the Valley depicting the goddess seated on a throne.

This triad of statues depicts Pharaoh Menkaura of the 4th Dynasty of Egypt dating back to approximately 2,400 BC and is currently on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

The tomb of Pharaoh Menkaure also yielded a group of exquisitely carved sculptures such as a statue of Pharaoh Menkaure standing beside his queen. Pharaoh Menkaure known in Greek as "Mycerenus" was a king of ancient Egypt from the 4th Dynasty who built the Pyramid of Menkaure the smallest of the three Great Pyramids of Giza. Currently it stands approximately 65 meters tall. He reigned around 2530 BC succeeding his father Pharaoh Khafre. His pyramid is notable for its base being covered in red granite from Aswan unlike other pyramids.

Pharaoh Menkaure of the 4th Dynasty built the Pyramid of Menkaure the smallest of the Great Pyramids of Giza. A major mystery is its "incomplete construction" due to his sudden death which necessitated the hasty sealing of his tomb. The lower part is covered in red granite from Aswan while the upper part uses ordinary limestone. Reflecting the haste in the final stages of construction in the 19th century explorers discovered a wooden sarcophagus inscribed with the name of Pharaoh Menkure but the sarcophagus sank at sea during its transport to England leaving the whereabouts of his mummy a mystery.