Canadian Hairless

What is the real age of the Sphynx in Egypt?

There is so much conflicting evidence but the best evidence I have seen dates the sphynx to approx 10,500 BC. What do you think?

Public Comments

1. Nobloody nose. It's the riddle of the Sphinx.
2. No one can give an accurate date your approx is the best that they can give. Stunning monument to see bigger than I expected.
3. The Sphinx is thought to have been carved to commemorate Thutmoses IV (1400 - 1390 BC). The granite has been dated to the first year of Thutmose's reign. In front of the sphinx is a freestanding altar, a remnant of a chapel built during the reign of Rameses II (c.1279-1213 BC). Worth a visit if you get a chance but don't expect it to be a romantic setting. You can hear the nearby hustle and bustle of the city and if you take a pace backwards you will be in McDonalds.
4. No one has put a definite date to it, because it was made at two different times before it was completed and made from 2 differnt types of stone. The base is a different stone to the body.
5. where r ya sistablu? :)
6. It is about 4550 years old. It was carved at the time of building the pyramid of Chefren.
7. It is generally agreed by most schools of thought in both Egyptological and archaeological studies, that The Great Sphinx dates from the reign of Khufu c 2470 BCE approx. Limestone used as masonry blocks in the subterranean passageways of The Great Pyramid has been geologically fingerprinted as having come from the same strata of limestone where The Great Sphinx is located. It is highly probable that when quarrying the limestone from this particular area the masons soon realised that it was actually of a very low grade and therefore unsuitable for the pyramids construction. The pyramid was completed using limestone blocks quarried from the Muquattan Hills on the other side of the Nile river. Th ancient Egyptian name of The Great Sphinx is "Horus of the Horizen, while Khufu's pyramid is aptly named "Khufu's Horizen"...coincidence....no, I dont think so. The "evidence" you speak of is more than likely to have come from Grahame Hancock and others who present a theory that there was an earlier, and far more sophisticated civilization existing in Egypt prior to the dynastic era of The Old Kingdom. However they fail to give any other evidence to indiicate the existance of such an advanced civilization and really one would think that there would be at least some other traces of a civilization as advanced as the exponents of these rather flimsy but sensational theories claim,other than weathering patterns on The Great Sphinx. The theory of weathering by exposure to thousands if years of torrential rain may make the weathing pattern believeable to some, intially. But anyone who studies other monuments also made of an inferior grade of stone will see similar patterns of weathering even though the monument or statues may belong to a far later era For example the famed statues of Amenhotep III often refferred to as The Colossus of Memnon which belong to the New Kingdon c 1388BCE. Neither Hancock,Bauval or any of the authors of these sensationalist books proporting such radical theories have any accredited qualifications in Egyptology, archeology or even geology, they are however good spin doctors. So was Eric Von Daniken who during the 1970's put out several books that claimed the pyramids were constructed by aliens. Now we actually know how the pyramids were constructed and there is no mystery surrounding them no one reads or buys his books and his so called theories have now been dismissed even by the most gullible of the general public. This will eventually be the same with Messers Hancock and co. whose "Orian theroy" fails to take into consideration one of the most basic facts, when you are looking at a mirror image it is reversed! So there goes their theory that the pyramids are meant to represent the Belt of Orian. They claim that Egyptologists and archeologists are doing a "cover up" because they don't want to rewrite history. Like other sciences we can only deal in facts, but I dont know of any who wouldn't embrace a valid breakthough in some of the real puzzles. These are men with a mission and it is not to sudy Egypt's long and fascinating history, it is simply to sell their books. ADDT: In refererence to Thutmoses IV and The Dream Stele The Stele relates how as a prince he was hunting on the Giza Plateau when he stopped to rest by the Sphinx . In a dream the Sphinx spoke to him asking him to remove the sand which was covering its body up to the neck. In return the Sphinx would reward him with the throne of Egypt. Thutmoses had the sand removed and also carried out a restoration project, adding a beard and the stele that commemerate his dream. This also gave added validity to his divine right to rule. For it was the Sphinx, a representation of the throne god Horus who had "offered" him the throne.
8. I knew if i starred it 'Sistablu' would give you the right answer, who better to give you an answer than an Egyptologist. My answer to this question is = around 2470 bc, just as our expert has stated. Thanx for the info Sista.
9. No, that is unlikely. I remember when that idea came out. Anthony West. But what probably happened is that the Egyptians found a natural rock formation, that had been weathered by the rain 10,500 BC - and built around it and carved it into the Great Sphinx the beginning of the Old Kingdom.