Pharaoh Statue Heads for Exhibition in U.S.

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — A 3,000-year-old granite statue of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, cut into three pieces, set sail Thursday for a U.S. exhibition.

The 60-ton statue, the largest monument to leave Egypt in recent years, was cut up to facilitate shipment and will be reassembled on reaching its destination in Memphis, Tenn.--named after the ancient Pharaonic capital.

The statue, discovered in 1961 in Meet Rahina, south of Cairo, has been insured for $1.5 million and will join 70 other pieces of antiquity to be shown in Memphis.