Great Sphinx Tour

Fri, Oct 29: Giza, Cairo, Egypt

I love the Sphinx, and always wondered why it looked so worn.

Erosion patterns on the Sphinx and the enclosure suggest it was caused by water and is at least 12000 years old per Robert Schoch. I looked, and I would agree. Coincidentally the lion pointed to the constellation Leo at that time.

They say the head was recarved by the the Egyptians. Sure looks that way based on smaller proportion size and vastly different weathering. If the Egyptians recarved the head, then how worn was the head before it was recarved?

The Sphinx was buried in sand to its neck for many years. That means the head should be more eroded than the body. So the old head was as least as worn as the body.

The current Sphinx head looks in decent shape for 2000 years of weathering. The body is obviously much older than that. So how could the Egyptians have created the entire Sphinx.

Answer: They didn’t. They inherited a really worn lion with a super worn head and recarved it.

So who then, actually carved the original Sphinx, and when, and why?

TIP: For the best photo view of the Sphinx, walk from the Sphinx entrance gate toward the front and right.

After pondering the enigmatic Great Sphinx on the Giza plateau, it’s time to check out the pyramids: the great pyramid, the middle pyramid, and Menkaure’s pyramid.

What’s your guess as to when the Sphinx was created. Let us know in the comments.

Part of the Ben UnchartedX Egypt Tour