EGYPTIAN archaeologists have uncovered a 2,000-year-old sandstone sphinx by complete chance while draining water from a temple.

The antiquities ministry said the ancient statue was found during works at the Kom Ombo temple in the southern city of Aswan.

Dr Mostafa Waziri, general secretary of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the statue is likely dating to the Ptolemaic era, between 305BC and 30BC.

The carved sphinx, a mythical being with the head of a human and the body of a lion, was discovered at the temple and measures to about 11in wide and 15in tall.

In a Facebook post, Waziri explained the statue was found in the south-eastern side of the temple, where two engraved sandstone reliefs of King Ptolemy V were discovered two months ago.

King Ptolemy V ruled from 210BC until 180BC and was known for having his accomplishments charted on the Rosetta Stone.

General Director of Aswan Antiquities Abdel Moneim Saeed said more research will be done on the newly discovered sphinx, Fox News reported.

The antiquities ministry says the temple of Kom Ombo was built during the reign of his son, Ptolemy VI. It was dedicated to the twin gods Sobek and Haroeris.

The sphinx represented royal power in ancient Egypt.

The mythical beast brought together the strength of a lion and the might of a king.

The Great Sphinx by the pyramids of Giza is the biggest and most famous of its kind.

But another which is possibly more than 4,000 years old was recently found buried by workmen building a road in Egypt.

The roadworks between the ancient temples of Karnak and Luxor were halted after the large statue was discovered featuring a “lion’s body and a human head”.

The relic could date as far back as 2500 BC and the reign of Pharoah Kafre.

The Director General of Antiquities Mohamed Abel Aziz announced plans to excavate the statue, which was still buried in the ground and embedded in the soil.

He added the process could take some time due to the age of the statue and the chances of damaging it after thousands of years.