Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza is an ancient Egyptian limestone monument depicting a lion with a human head, carved from bedrock on the Giza Plateau.

Khafre: Khafre was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, associated with the second pyramid at Giza. The Sphinx is commonly linked to Khafre, whose pyramid complex stands nearby.
Sphinx enclosure: The Sphinx enclosure is the excavated space surrounding the monument, cut into the Giza Plateau’s limestone bedrock. Its walls expose the geological layers from which the statue was carved.
Thutmose IV: Thutmose IV was an Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh who cleared and restored the Sphinx during his reign. His Dream Stele presents the monument as a source of royal legitimacy.
Sphinx water erosion hypothesis: The Sphinx water erosion hypothesis attributes some enclosure weathering to prolonged rainfall before the conventional Old Kingdom date. It supports proposals that the monument predates Khafre by millennia.
Old Kingdom of Egypt: The Old Kingdom was the period of Egyptian history marked by the construction of the major pyramid complexes. The Sphinx belongs to the monumental building culture of this era.
Limestone: Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of calcium carbonate. The Sphinx was carved from layered limestone with uneven resistance to erosion.
Auguste Mariette: Auguste Mariette was a French Egyptologist who founded Egypt’s Antiquities Service and excavated at Giza. His nineteenth-century work helped bring the Sphinx into modern archaeological study.
Conventional chronology of the Great Sphinx: The conventional chronology dates the Great Sphinx to Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty, usually associating it with Khafre. It contrasts with claims that geological weathering requires a much earlier date.
Giza pyramid complex: The Giza pyramid complex is an archaeological site containing royal pyramids, temples, tombs, and the Sphinx. The statue forms part of the landscape of royal monuments at Giza.
Ancient Egyptian quarrying: Ancient Egyptian quarrying extracted stone for buildings, statues, and other monuments. The Sphinx’s body was shaped from bedrock left during nearby quarrying.

Linked from 7 pages