Head of the Administrative Prosecution Rashida Fathallah referred on Saturday three officials at the Ministry of Antiquities to an urgent trial over the process of lifting the eight-metre statue of Psammetich I in Cairo’s district of Matariya earlier in March, which raised public controversy. The prosecution said that authorities failed to follow the scientific and technical basis in the excavation process. The mission then informed the specialised authorities and asked for pumps to remove water from the statue, as it was covered in clay. The prosecution decided to refer them to an urgent trial under accusations of negligence. The statue, which was found underwater beneath a Cairo slum, was first thought to belong to the Pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.

Source: Daily News Egypt July 08, 2017 15:11 UTC