Giant statues of Egyptian Pharaoh found in mud pit (photos)

Archaeologists have discovered two statues of Egyptian Pharaoh dating back more than 3,000 years in a Cairo muddy pit, Egypt's antiquities ministry announced on Thursday. According to the Ministry, the relics were found in Mattarya district, site of the ancient Pharaonic capital of Heliopolis and today a sprawl of working and middle-class districts in northeastern Cairo.

The statues are thought to represent Pharaohs from the 19th dynasty, which ruled from 1314 to 1200 BC. One statue stands eight meters (26 feet) tall and is carved out of quartzite, a tough stone composed mostly of quartz grains. It could not be identified from its engravings but it was found at the entrance to the temple of King Ramses II -- also known as Ramses the Great, suggesting it represents him.

The other relic is a limestone statue of 12th century BC ruler King Seti II. They were discovered by a joint German-Egyptian archaeological mission