His name was Pharoah Ramesses II, affectionately known as Rameses the Great. He ruled Egypt from approximately 1279 – 1213 BCE, an astounding 66 years. If his name sounds familiar, it should.

This historical site being restored should appeal to the Body of Christ. Although his name is not mentioned directly with the leader of God’s people out of Egypt, it has long been accepted that Ramseses II is the pharaoh associated with Moses.

The Bible mentions Rameses four times in three separate books: Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers. He was arguably the most distinguished pharaoh in ancient Egypt. The Greeks called him Ozymandias, loosely translated as “The ruler of the air.” (If you’re a poetry fan, you may recall Percy Shelley’s sonnet, or if you love comics, that is the same name in “Watchmen.”)

“And Joseph will place his father and his brethren and will give them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, according to what Pharaoh commanded” (Gen. 47:11 SLT).

Grandiose sculptures and temples were among the treasures of any ruler’s kingdom. For Rameses II, the most highly regarded was the Ramesseum Temple, built over 3,000 years ago as a place of worship to their highest deity, Amun-Ra. Upon Rameses II’s death, it became his mortuary temple.

Last week, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced their plan to “undergo significant restoration” on the West Bank of Luxor. According to a Fox News report translating the Arabic press release, the project “aims to understand the methods used by the ancient Egyptians in constructing this pylon, analyzing its inscriptions and comparing them with those in other temples.”

“The mission has begun scientific excavation works, including an architectural study of the first pylon,” said Dr. Abdel Ghaffar Wagdy, General Director of Luxor Antiquities, according to Akhbarak.

Today, pylons, typically metal or stone, keep high-voltage power lines far above where people may be. In ancient Egypt, pylons were large gateways in a truncated pyramidal form with engraved hieroglyphics detailing the praises of that day. In this case, it is one of the most critical moments of his reign, a conflict won by Rameses II against the Hittite Empire known as the Battle of Kadesh.

In Exodus 1:11, the Bible reads, “So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.” That reference is to Rameses I, Pharoah’s grandfather, who is thought to have ruled 1292-1290 BCE.

Temples were meant to reflect might, power, and prestige. Therefore, the Ramesseum restoration project will not be easy. The release shares current measurements of the temple–270 meters long (885 feet) and 175 meters wide (574 feet) in total space. The exact temple “is surrounded by a massive mudbrick wall, and its length reaches 180 meters with a width of 66 meters.”

The initial excavation will focus on that historical pylon for “the scientific documentation and recording of the stone blocks” surrounding it. The archaeologists hope to stabilize the stone blocks and return them to their original position, which was scattered during a massive earthquake in 27 BCE that devastated the Ramesseum.