Colossal 3,000-year-old statue unearthed in Cairo

A team of archaeologists discovered a giant 3,000-year-old statue last year thought to depict Ramses II, in what the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities is describing as "one of its most important archaeological discoveries." The head and torso will be moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, which is due to open in late 2018.

Archaeologists from Egypt and Germany began removing the quartzite statue -- estimated to stand 30 feet tall -- from the ground in Matariya, greater Cairo. Ramses II, known as the "Great Ancestor" to his descendants, ruled for 66 years from 1279 to 1213 BC as part of Ancient Egypt's 19th dynasty.