The Colossi of Memnon are a pair of imposing statues that rise to eighteen meters in height. Each of the sculptures weighs over seven hundred tons. The gigantic structures immediately catch the eye of everyone who sets foot on the western bank of the Nile River near the ruins of Luxor. This territory is called "the city of the dead". According to historians, both colossus are statues depicting the pharaoh of Egypt Amenhotep III.
Interesting fact! The statues were assembled from blocks of quartzite sandstone quarried from a mine located quite close to present-day Cairo. At the same time, the development of sandstone was at an impressive distance from the place where the gigantic statues were subsequently installed. The distance from the quarry was almost 670 km! Heavy statues (each more than 700 tons!) Were moved along the ground using special blocks created by the engineers of the time. Scientists came to the conclusion that the waters of the Nile were not used to cross the Colossi, since the load was too heavy and could lie on the bottom along with all the devices.
It should be noted that the name "Colossi of Memnon" is of Greek origin, which has no connection with the culture of Ancient Egypt. The locals nicknamed the southern of the monuments "King of Kings", and worshiped both statues as gods. The Arabs, who were able to conquer Egypt in the seventh century, called these masterpieces "Shammi and Tammi". Today the statues are called El Colossatus.
Colossi gained fame because of the earthquake that happened in the ancient world in 27 BC. Then the upper part of the northern statue collapsed. The lower part, which remained in place, began to reproduce mysterious sounds. Their emergence was observed at dawn, which allowed the inhabitants of Greece to call the monuments "Colossi of Memnon" (in Greek "memnon" means "ruler of the sunrise").
Two versions of transporting statues
The Colossi of Memnon were located near the entrance to the Memorial Temple-burial of ruler Amenhotep III. Their construction is a true masterpiece of engineering during the era of emergence. They were carved from solid pieces of quartzite sandstone. The weight of each statue is seven hundred and twenty tons, and the block is one thousand tons.
Investigation of the rocky structure showed that the material came from quarries at Giza or Jabal al-Ahmar. The statues were collected near modern Cairo - seven hundred kilometers from Luxor. How did you manage to move such blocks to such a significant distance? This remains a mystery to scientists to this day. There are at least two hypotheses.
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The first is based on the opinion that the local population built several wooden barges around the blocks. The tide allowed the barges to float, which allowed them to be in the city of Thebes (now Luxor). This hypothesis has a right to exist, since the movement of a load of a thousand tons requires a barge with a similar displacement. Today such a barge seems small, and the Egyptians could well have built it.
The ancient statues are eroded.
The second hypothesis states that the weight of the blocks did not allow them to be transported along the river, as a result of which they were pulled along the surface of the earth. Despite doubts about the veracity of this version, it is quite popular.
An example is the imposing marble stone in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Its weight is two hundred and fifty tons. It was transported over a distance of more than one hundred kilometers. This process has been documented. Ten thousand mules and twenty thousand slaves took part in it. How many animals and people had to transport a unit weighing a thousand tons? It should be borne in mind that the inhabitants of China were pulling their block on the ice, which somewhat simplified the task. Taking into account the considered nuances, the opinion regarding transportation over the earth's surface sounds absurd.
When the blocks were in place, the figures of Pharaoh Amenhotep III were carved from them. Colossi adorned the entrance to the temple, but after being damaged by the flooding of the Nile River, they were taken away for building materials. The Colossi of Memnon stood until 27 BC when they were damaged by an earthquake.
Singing statue - tuning fork
The statues became widely known, since after partial destruction they began to emit sounds, sometimes similar to a whistle, sometimes to a low moan. The tone of the sounds emitted by the Colossus was recognized as a reference - in the ancient world it was used to tune musical instruments.
What secrets do they hide?
In 130 AD, the emperor Hadrian came here, and in 199 - the emperor Septimius Sever. Even the emperors of the Roman Empire visited monumental structures! The sound of the Colossi was not heard every day, which is why signs were born among the people. In those days, it was believed that for a person who could hear the sounds of Memnon, it was a good omen. But if the statue remained silent, then this was interpreted as a sign of alarm, impending disaster, misfortune.
To appease the Oracle, the Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus ordered the restoration of the split statue. The cracked parts were brought together, after which the colossus was silent forever.
Two versions of the "singing" of the Colossi of Memnon
Scientists only speculate about the nature of the awakening of sounds. There is no specifics in the ancient description, only written evidence of travelers of that time. The historian Strabo, who came to see the statues in the twentieth year BC, described the sounds "like blows." The Greek geographer Pausanias mentioned that they "sound like the strings of a lyre," but he ended up in Egypt only two hundred years after Strabo. These nuances make it clear that the sounds from the statue could have changed over time.
There could be two sources of sounds. The first was explained by the absorption of moisture by the statues at night, which then underwent evaporation during the first rays of the sun, which caused the sound. The second is the friction of gusts of wind against the surface of the monument. But this version has no right to exist, given that sounds appeared only at dawn.
Interesting facts about the statues of Memnon
Travelers in ancient times were not much different from our contemporaries. They left inscriptions on statues, wanting to capture their stay in sacred places. About ninety inscriptions can be found on the Colosses of Memnon, in both Greek and Latin.
Written "testimonies" and marks list not only the names of the lucky ones and the year of their visit, but also information about the ability to distinguish sounds. It follows from them that the statues did not make noise regularly, but most often pleased tourists and local residents from February to March.