Egyptian archaeologists have discovered the statue of a sphinx while draining water from the pharaonic Temple of Kom Ombo in the southern city of Aswan.

The antiquities ministry said the statue of the mythical beast with the head of a human and the body of a lion was made of sandstone.

It probably dates back to the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt from 305BC until the Roman conquest in 30BC.

Two sandstone reliefs of King Ptolemy V were also recently found at the temple.