Archaeologists have found a massive 3,000-year-old statue buried under a slum in Cairo, Egypt, which they believe depicts the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II. The find, which Reuters reports is already being hailed as one of the most important ever, took place Tuesday near the ruins of the temple to Ramses in the eastern part of the city.

Also known as Ramses the Great, the subject of the 26-foot statue is widely considered the most celebrated ruler of ancient Egypt. In his reign from 1279 to 1213 B.C., he greatly expanded the size of the Egyptian empire and became known to later generations as the Great Ancestor.

Getty Images

"We found the bust of the statue and the lower part of the head," Egyptian Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani told Reuters Thursday, "and now we removed the head and we found the crown and the right ear and a fragment of the right eye."

A forklift lifted the statue's massive head out of the mud Thursday. Here are some more photos from the scene:

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io