Antiquities of King Seti II in the Mutkarnak Temple

Antiquities of King Seti II in the Mutkarnak Temple

Excavations of Seti II's artifacts spanned over two centuries uncovering some of the most remarkable relics of ancient Egypt. While Egypt is best known for its colossal sphinx-like monuments and seated quartzite statues first created at Karnak a remarkable bust of Seti II was also discovered in the Heliopolis area. Excavations of Seti II's statues uncovered two massive figures of him as a banner bearer of the god Amun located at the entrance to his temple in the Great Hall of the Karnak Temple. Another matching statue was moved to the Egyptian Museum in Turin for display.

Statue of Pharaoh Seti II from the 19th Dynasty, carved from sandstone. The statue is over 5 meters tall, depicting 

the pharaoh standing and holding a small altar. Seti II ruled Egypt from approximately 1200 to 1194 BC.

Excavations at the Karnak Temple complex (Thebes) unearthed one of Seti II's most famous seated statues in 1818 by the renowned explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni. Discovered within the Temple of Mut at Karnak the statue depicts Seti II holding a shrine to the god Amun. A major joint Egyptian-German archaeological excavation in 2017 also uncovered a life-sized bust made of limestone.

Colossal statue of King SETI II, from the Temple of Karnak,Thebes. New Kingdom, Dynasty 19 (1291-1185 BC).

 Discovered by Drovetti in 1818, Museo Egizio Turin, Inv.nr. 1383 – photo credit : Hans Ollermann

The upper part of a statue of King Seti II among other artifacts was found submerged underwater amidst the ruins of an ancient sun temple next to a colossal statue of Ramses II. During his search for royal tombs archaeologist Theodore M. Davis discovered a small treasure-like burial chamber (KV56) containing numerous beautiful pieces of jewelry and amulets inscribed solely with the name of King Seti II. Fragments such as the famous painted quartzite head of King Seti II now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art were found during various 20th-century excavations in the Hypostyle Hall.