Friday 31/October/2025 – 06:30 AM
Archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass revealed new details about the process of moving the statue of Ramses II from Ramses Square to its new location in the Grand Egyptian Museum, explaining that the transfer process took three years of careful study and planning.
Moving the statue of Ramses II
Hawass said: “We sat together and studied for 3 years how to transport a statue weighing 83 tons, walking through the heart of Cairo, across the bridges, and reaching the Grand Museum,” noting that the credit for the success of the transportation process goes to the genius Egyptian engineer Dr. Ahmed Hussein, who came up with a genius idea that allows the statue to be moved from below while maintaining its stability from above during the journey.
Dr. Ahmed Hussein, who died in 2017, is considered one of the most prominent engineering minds in Egypt, and the one who had the genius idea behind the process of moving the statue of Ramses II from its famous square in central Cairo to its current location in the Grand Egyptian Museum, in one of the most precise and complex engineering operations in Egypt’s modern history.
Dr. Ahmed Hussein, who came up with the idea of transportation, challenged the results of the risk study, which were frightening and indicated the possibility of the statue being destroyed, and insisted that the statue be transported standing, with its face uncovered, to greet the citizens, in a procession at a speed of 5 kilometers per hour, all the way to the shooting range in the Pyramid area, in a global demonstration of the power of Ramses, as described by Dr. Zahi Hawass at the time.
Dr. Ahmed Hussein was born on July 13, 1944 in the city of Zagazig in Sharkia Governorate. He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University in 1965 with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering – Automotive Division. He then obtained a doctorate in Applied Mechanics from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom in 1975.
The deceased devoted his life to academic and scientific work, where he held the position of assistant professor in the Department of Design and Production Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering – Ain Shams University. During his career, he presented many research and references that enriched the Egyptian Engineering Library.
Dr. Ahmed Hussein was the one who came up with the idea and design of the plan to move the statue of Ramses II in 2006. He developed an integrated engineering vision based on moving the statue from the bottom while maintaining its stability from the top, to ensure its safe transfer from the heart of the capital to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.
Dr. Ahmed Hussein died in 2017, but his name remained immortal in the memory of Egyptians, as his name was raised on the statue platform before the start of the transportation procession in his honor.
