Student Pigal Erkan

THE SPHINX

The Great Sphinx of Giza (Arabic: أبو الهول‎ Abū al Hūl, English: The Terrifying One), commonly referred to as the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining or couchant sphinx (a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head) that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. It is the largest monolith statue in the world, standing 73.5 metres (241 ft) long, 6 metres (20 ft) wide, and m (66.34 ft) high. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture, and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the pharaoh Khafra (c. 2558–2532 BC).

When was the Great Sphinx built? Good question, but no one has the exact answer! The Great Sphinx of Giza is carved of rock, so it cannot be dated by the radio carbon technique. The only other method of dating the Sphinx would be by using old Egyptian texts that refer to its existence and construction. The problem is that there are no such texts, therefore, no definite facts are known. The great monument was definitely in existence in the time of Khufu (Cheops). Pharaoh Thutmose IV had a granite stele known as the Dream stele placed between the paws (A stele was a stone slab, decorated with text which served as a monument. But the sphinx probably dates back to the generations before the Pharaoh Menes who established the 1st Egyptian dynasty in the Early Dynastic Period. These people were called in the priestly chronicles "the Servants of Horus" and were the early people who settled in Egypt and who were Aryans during the Predynastic Period 5550 BC BC. However other scholars believe that the Great Sphinx of Giza was built during the period of the Old Kingdom of Egypt during the 3rd millennium BC. The Old Kingdom is often referred to as "the Age of the Pyramids" when the Great pyramids of Giza were built, in close proximity to the Great Sphinx. The time period of the Old Kingdom covers 2686 BC BC. So there is no definitive answer to when the Great Sphinx was built and who built the sphinx - it is no wonder that people often refer to the Mystery or Riddle of the Sphinx. Good question, but no one has the exact answer! The Great Sphinx of Giza is carved of rock, so it cannot be dated by the radio carbon technique. The only other method of dating the Sphinx would be by using old Egyptian texts that refer to its existence and construction. The problem is that there are no such texts, therefore, no definite facts are known. The great monument was definitely in existence in the time of Khufu (Cheops). Pharaoh Thutmose IV had a granite stele known as the Dream stele placed between the paws (A stele was a stone slab, decorated with text which served as a monument. But the sphinx probably dates back to the generations before the Pharaoh Menes who established the 1st Egyptian dynasty in the Early Dynastic Period. These people were called in the priestly chronicles "the Servants of Horus" and were the early people who settled in Egypt and who were Aryans during the Predynastic Period 5550 BC BC. However other scholars believe that the Great Sphinx of Giza was built during the period of the Old Kingdom of Egypt during the 3rd millennium BC. The Old Kingdom is often referred to as "the Age of the Pyramids" when the Great pyramids of Giza were built, in close proximity to the Great Sphinx. The time period of the Old Kingdom covers 2686 BC BC. So there is no definitive answer to when the Great Sphinx was built and who built the sphinx - it is no wonder that people often refer to the Mystery or Riddle of the Sphinx.

Location of the Great Sphinx. The location of the Great Sphinx of Giza is on the Giza Plateau, bordering the Sahara Desert, on the west bank of the Nile River, near modern-day Cairo. Mysterious passages pierce the great Sphinx and connect it with the Second Pyramid built by the Pharaoh Khafre, which is three hundred feet west of it. The location of the Great Sphinx of Giza is on the Giza Plateau, bordering the Sahara Desert, on the west bank of the Nile River, near modern-day Cairo. Mysterious passages pierce the great Sphinx and connect it with the Second Pyramid built by the Pharaoh Khafre, which is three hundred feet west of it.

What Materials Were Used To Built THE GREAT SPHINX? The sphinx is built of soft sandstone and would have disappeared long ago had it not been buried for so long. The body is 200 feet (60m) in length and 65 feet (20m) tall. The face of the sphinx is 13 feet (4m) wide and its eyes are 6 feet (2m) high. Part of the uraeus (sacred cobra), the nose and the ritual beard are now missing.. The beard from the sphinx is displayed in the British Museum. The statue is crumbling today because of the wind, humidity and the smog from Cairo. Attempts to restore it have often caused more harm than good. No one can be certain who the figure is to personify. It is possible that it is Chephren. If that is so, it would then be the oldest known royal portrait in such large scale. Some say that it was built after the pyramid of Chephren was complete. It may have been set as a sort of scarecrow to guard his tomb. Still others say it is the face of his guardian deity, rather than Chephren himself. The image of the sphinx is a depiction of royal power. Only a pharaoh or an animal could be shown this way, with the animal representing a protective deity. The sphinx is built of soft sandstone and would have disappeared long ago had it not been buried for so long. The body is 200 feet (60m) in length and 65 feet (20m) tall. The face of the sphinx is 13 feet (4m) wide and its eyes are 6 feet (2m) high. Part of the uraeus (sacred cobra), the nose and the ritual beard are now missing.. The beard from the sphinx is displayed in the British Museum. The statue is crumbling today because of the wind, humidity and the smog from Cairo. Attempts to restore it have often caused more harm than good. No one can be certain who the figure is to personify. It is possible that it is Chephren. If that is so, it would then be the oldest known royal portrait in such large scale. Some say that it was built after the pyramid of Chephren was complete. It may have been set as a sort of scarecrow to guard his tomb. Still others say it is the face of his guardian deity, rather than Chephren himself. The image of the sphinx is a depiction of royal power. Only a pharaoh or an animal could be shown this way, with the animal representing a protective deity.

Who Made The Great Sphinx? Probably the most recognized statue in the world, and one of the very oldest, the Sphinx sits near the edge of the Giza plateau as it sits near the edge of recorded human history. Conventional archaeology believes the Sphinx dates to the reign of Pharaoh Chephren (Khafre) (Fourth Dynasty, ), builder of the Second Pyramid of Gisa, which stands behind it. The head of the Sphinx was carved from a natural hill, the body was excavated from the surrounding stone, and the stone blocks that were removed in that excavation were used in the construction of the Sphinx temple just to the east. Probably the most recognized statue in the world, and one of the very oldest, the Sphinx sits near the edge of the Giza plateau as it sits near the edge of recorded human history. Conventional archaeology believes the Sphinx dates to the reign of Pharaoh Chephren (Khafre) (Fourth Dynasty, ), builder of the Second Pyramid of Gisa, which stands behind it. The head of the Sphinx was carved from a natural hill, the body was excavated from the surrounding stone, and the stone blocks that were removed in that excavation were used in the construction of the Sphinx temple just to the east.

HISTORY OF THE CONSERVATION OF THE SPHINX HISTORY OF THE CONSERVATION OF THE SPHINX Any conservation campaign that is undertaken on the Sphinx now or in the future must heed the lessons of the past. This reasoning underlies the present efforts to document the history of conservation on the Sphinx. Only with a clear understanding of what has transpired in the precinct over the years--indeed from the time of the earliest restoration by Thutmosis IV in 1400 BC through the interventions of the 1980s, and right up to the present change of policy--can we comprehend the current state of affairs direction. In my opinion most of the conservation campaigns in the past were conceived as stop-gap solutions, with no long-term strategy in mind for protecting the Sphinx. Some of these temporary measures even damaged the Sphinx more than benefited it. This section will outline and review the five phases of conservation from 1400 BC through 1987, and then describe the work in progress in the current (1989- present) campaign. Any conservation campaign that is undertaken on the Sphinx now or in the future must heed the lessons of the past. This reasoning underlies the present efforts to document the history of conservation on the Sphinx. Only with a clear understanding of what has transpired in the precinct over the years--indeed from the time of the earliest restoration by Thutmosis IV in 1400 BC through the interventions of the 1980s, and right up to the present change of policy--can we comprehend the current state of affairs direction. In my opinion most of the conservation campaigns in the past were conceived as stop-gap solutions, with no long-term strategy in mind for protecting the Sphinx. Some of these temporary measures even damaged the Sphinx more than benefited it. This section will outline and review the five phases of conservation from 1400 BC through 1987, and then describe the work in progress in the current (1989- present) campaign.

Early Egyptologists Some of the early Egyptologists and excavators of the Giza pyramid complex believed the Great Sphinx and other structures in the Sphinx enclosure predated the traditional date of construction (the reign of Khafra or Khephren, 2520–2492 BC). Some of the early Egyptologists and excavators of the Giza pyramid complex believed the Great Sphinx and other structures in the Sphinx enclosure predated the traditional date of construction (the reign of Khafra or Khephren, 2520–2492 BC). In 1857, Auguste Mariette, founder of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, unearthed the much later Inventory Stela (estimated Dynasty XXVI, c. 678–525 BC), which tells how Khufu came upon the Sphinx, already buried in sand. Although certain tracts on the Stela are considered good evidence, this passage is widely dismissed as Late Period historical revisionism. In 1857, Auguste Mariette, founder of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, unearthed the much later Inventory Stela (estimated Dynasty XXVI, c. 678–525 BC), which tells how Khufu came upon the Sphinx, already buried in sand. Although certain tracts on the Stela are considered good evidence, this passage is widely dismissed as Late Period historical revisionism. Gaston Maspero, the French Egyptologist and second director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, conducted a survey of the Sphinx in 1886 and concluded: Gaston Maspero, the French Egyptologist and second director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, conducted a survey of the Sphinx in 1886 and concluded: "The Sphinx stela shows, in line thirteen, the cartouche of Khephren. I believe that to indicate an excavation carried out by that prince, following which, the almost certain proof that the Sphinx was already buried in sand by the time of Khafre and his predecessors [i.e. Dynasty IV, c. 2575–2467 BC]." "The Sphinx stela shows, in line thirteen, the cartouche of Khephren. I believe that to indicate an excavation carried out by that prince, following which, the almost certain proof that the Sphinx was already buried in sand by the time of Khafre and his predecessors [i.e. Dynasty IV, c. 2575–2467 BC]." In 1904, English Egyptologist E. A. Wallis Budge wrote in The Gods of the Egyptians: In 1904, English Egyptologist E. A. Wallis Budge wrote in The Gods of the Egyptians: "This marvelous object [the Great Sphinx] was in existence in the days of Khafre, or Khephren, and it is probable that it is a very great deal older than his reign and that it dates from the end of the archaic period [c BC]." "This marvelous object [the Great Sphinx] was in existence in the days of Khafre, or Khephren, and it is probable that it is a very great deal older than his reign and that it dates from the end of the archaic period [c BC]."

Discoveries In The Great Sphinx