Colossi of Memnon

Two massive 3,300-year-old twin statues of Pharaoh Amhotep III sit in an open area of the Theban Necropolis west of Luxor, Egypt. The statues are 60 feet high and weigh 720 tons apiece. Each is made from a single solid block of quartzite sandstone, and here is the mystery - the nearest quartzite sandstone quarry is located in modern-day Cairo, more than 400 miles to the north. These enormous objects are simply too heavy to have been loaded onto barges and transported down the Nile, and likewise moving them overland would have been an all but impossible task.  No one knows how these big boys got to Luxor.

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The Colossi once guarded the entrance to Amhotep's mortuary temple, truly one of the glories of antiquity. But earthquakes and repeated flooding from the nearby Nile gradually destroyed most of the structure. The Colossi themselves are so damaged that their upper body features are all but unrecognizable despite later restoration attempts.

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According to numerous historical accounts, the northern Colossus has been known to sing! No one knows the cause of the eerie singing sound, although it might have to do with large cracks sustained in a 27 B.C. earthquake. Hearing the "Vocal Memnon" sing is said to bring good luck.