Ramses II's Homecoming: The Colossus of Tanis

In the waning years of his 67-year reign, Ramses II ordered the construction of a colossal statue of himself at Tanis, a city in the Nile Delta. This episode traces the journey of that 100-ton quartzite colossus from the quarry at Gebel el-Ahmar near modern Cairo to its final home at the temple of Amun-Re in Tanis. We follow the logistics—the sledges, the thousands of workers, the seasonal flooding that allowed transport along the Pelusiac branch of the Nile. We also explore why Tanis, a relatively minor settlement, became the pharaoh's second northern capital and the site of his most audacious monumental statement. Lucas and Luna discuss the political motives behind Ramses's northern push, the role of the goddess Mut, and how the colossus survived into the Third Intermediate Period as a symbol of enduring royal power. Along the way, we touch on the workmen's village at Deir el-Medina, the use of water channels to move stone, and the theological rivalry between the cults of Amun-Re and Seth. #RamsesII #Tanis #Colossus #GebelElAhmar #PelusiacBranch #AmunRe #EgyptianQuarrying #NewKingdom #19thDynasty #DeirElMedina #SledgeTransport #NileDelta #Mut #Seth #ThirdIntermediatePeriod #AncientEngineering #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo