An Egyptian-German archaeological team has unearthed 17 statues of the ancient Egyptian war goddess Sekhmet in southern ancient city of Luxor after the team found six statues last week, Egyptian Culture Minister Farouq Hosni said on Sunday.

The life-sized statues of the goddess, who has the head of a lioness and the body of a woman, were found when the team was doing restoration work on the temple of Amenhotep III, on the west river bank of Luxor, Hosni said in a statement from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

The black granite statues measure between 1.7 meters and 1.8 meters and show Sekhmet sitting on a throne holding the Ankh, a hieroglyphic sign that represented life for the ancient Egyptians, said Zahi Hawas, head of the SCA.

Hawas added that Amenhotep III's different names and titles were delicately engraved on both sides of the statues' thrones, reflecting the advanced arts of the 18th Dynasty (1551-1305 BC).

Last week, the Egyptian and German archeologists found six statues for Sekhmet near the courtyard of the same temple.

The goddess Sekhmet, associated with war and retribution, represented the destructive force of the sun, according to ancient Egyptian mythology.

Source: Xinhua