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The Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt, a massive structure carved from a single rock, has long fascinated visitors and experts alike. While many believed that the imposing statue, with its human head and lion's body, was created by humans during the ancient kingdom of Egypt around 2600 BC, its true origins remained shrouded in mystery. However, a recent study conducted by scientists from New York University, published in the journal Physical Review Fluids, provides insight into how this extraordinary statue was formed over 4,500 years ago. The multi-layered body: A puzzle Traditionally attributed to human craftsmanship, the exact process...

At an ancient temple in southern Egypt, archaeologists have uncovered a figure that is reminiscent of a sphinx, as well as the remnants of a shrine. The Hathor Temple is one of the best preserved ancient locations in Egypt, and the recently unearthed artifacts are shedding fresh light on the extensive history of the surrounding area. Smiley Face and Two Dimples The limestone sphinx features a “smiley face and two dimples” and is believed to represent the Roman Emperor Claudius. It is significantly smaller than the famous Sphinx located in the Pyramids of Giza, which stands at a towering height...

Archeologists have discovered the remains of two huge sphinx statues, each measuring 26 feet in length, at the funerary temple of King Amenhotep III, a pharaoh who reigned about 3,300 years ago, according to a recent statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. A team led by Horig Sorosian found the sphinxes partially submerged in water at the funerary building, known as the “Temple of Millions of Years,” located within the vast ruins of Luxor, Egypt, which includes the ancient city of Thebes. Amenhotep III’s temple is packed with artifacts and was once a resplendent feature of Luxor....

A New geological study shows that the great sphinx of Giza is 800,000 Years old The Great Sphinx on the Giza plateau in Egypt is one of the most mysterious and enigmatic monuments on the planet’s surface. It is an ancient structure that has baffled investigators since its discovery, and no one has been able to accurately date the Sphinx because there are no written records or reports of it in the past. Now, two Ukrainian researchers have suggested a new controversial theory, claiming that the Great Sphinx of Egypt is about 800,000 years old. A scientifically based revolutionary theory....

Controversy has recently arisen about moving four sphinxes from their find spot in Luxor (ancient Thebes) to Cairo's Tahrir Square. Archaeologists and heritage experts argue that using the statues to decorate a traffic circle in the congested heart of the Egyptian capital is unlawful and may inadvertently damage the monuments. Not only is Tahrir Square one of the busiest places in the country -- it was the epicenter of the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and is the location of the Egyptian Museum -- but Cairo also suffers from extreme air pollution and high humidity. The sandstone statues...

The Sphinx had a "distinctive astronomical" moment with the sun during the spring equinox when, in a shining flourish, the sun set on the shoulder of the half-man, half-lion statue on March 19, according to the Egypt Ministry of Antiquities. This phenomenon happens only twice a year, during the spring in March and the fall equinox in September, according to the ministry. During the equinox, Earth's axis doesn't point toward or away from the sun, meaning that the Northern and Southern hemispheres receive equal amounts of the sun's light. In other words, the day and the night are equal in...

At the end of the last Ice Age, the Sahara Desert was just as dry and uninviting as it is today. But sandwiched between two periods of extreme dryness were a few millennia of plentiful rainfall and lush vegetation. During these few thousand years, prehistoric humans left the congested Nile Valley and established settlements around rain pools, green valleys, and rivers. The ancient climate shift and its effects are detailed in the July 21 issue of the journal Science. When the rains came Some 12,000 years ago, the only place to live along the eastern Sahara Desert was the Nile...

There is a lot more to Climate Change than the dire predictions that we will be eating each other by now. The Sahara Desert was once lush and green. Then the weather systems shifted and the once fertile land turns to desert. The Sphinx is believed to have the face of Khafra of the 4th dynasty during the Old Kingdom which was carved perhaps around 2500BC. Some believe that the Sphinx predates the Egyptians and was actually a lion because there appear to be what some claim are water erosion marks. If true, then the original Sphinx may have existed...

Archaeologists have discovered a stunning sphinx statue at an ancient temple in southern Egypt. The sandstone statue was discovered during a project to reduce groundwater at Kom Ombo temple in Aswan. The statue likely dates back to the Ptolemaic period, between 305 B.C. and 30 B.C., according to Dr. Mostafa Waziri, general secretary of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. In a Facebook post, Waziri explained that the statue was found in the southeastern side of the temple, where two sandstone reliefs of King Ptolemy V were discovered two months ago. Sphinx statues, which have a lion’s body and a human...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian archaeologists draining water from a temple in the southern city of Aswan have uncovered a sandstone sphinx likely dating to the Ptolemaic era, the antiquities ministry said on Sunday.

Work on the Al-Kabbash Road project, linking the temple complexes of Luxor and Karnak – which date back to around 1400 BCE, when Luxor was known as the ancient city of Thebes – is due to be finished later this year. However, the discovery of the statue has brought a temporary stop as the statue cannot currently be moved. Not very much is known about it yet, and photos are limited. According to the Director General of Antiquities at Luxor, Dr Mohamed Abdel Aziz, speaking to news site Youm, the workers found a statue of a “lion’s body with a human head”,...

Everybody interested in finding the true history of the Giza pyramids and The Sphinx, will have no doubt heard the theory proposed by Geology professor, Robert Schoch and the late, great John Anthony West, that The Sphinx was originally a lion that was subject to water erosion. The theory states that this could only have happened between 5,000 and 10,500 BC, a time period that is far earlier than the orthodox date attributed to the construction of the Sphinx, which is 2558 to 2532 BC. Robert Temple, in his book The Sphinx Mystery, believes the Sphinx was carved as Anubis...

A team of US archaeologists has discovered the ruins of a city dating back to the period of the first farmers 7,000 years ago in Egypt's Fayyum oasis, the supreme council of antiquities said. "An electro-magnetic survey revealed the existence in the Karanis region of a network of walls and roads similar to those constructed during the Greco-Roman period," the council's chief Zahi Hawwas said. The remnants of the city are "still buried beneath the sand and the details of this discovery will be revealed in due course," Mr Hawwas said. "The artefacts consist of the remains of walls and...

Over a month ago his left lung collapsed completely, and about a week ago his kidneys failed. His heart rate is now slowing down as well. Dad made it very clear to us from the beginning, upon receiving his diagnosis, that he did not want to live a life on life support. Although it's truly impossible to know for sure what recovery could look like, it is very clear that he would not have the quality of life he would want, nor the quality of life we would want for him. It was because of the virtually limitless support and...

Archaeologists working in sand dunes on the central California coast have dug up an intact plaster sphinx that was part of an Egyptian movie set built more than 90 years ago for Cecil B. DeMille's epic "The Ten Commandments." The 300-pound sphinx is the second recovered from the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes.

ISIS “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi told followers of his terror group that destroying Egypt’s national monuments, such as the pyramids and the sphinx, is a “religious duty” that must be carried out by those who worship Islam, as idolatry is strictly banned in the religion, according to reports.

Does Religious Law Permit Visiting Egyptian Pyramids? Saudi religious authorities have recently been probing the issue of whether a Muslim is permitted to visit the Egyptian pyramids - a tourist site favored by the Saudis - or any other tombs of infidels. Fatwas have been issued permitting visiting the pyramids only for the sake of learning a moral lesson (pertaining to death and the world to come) based on the Prophet's words in the hadith: "Visit tombs, for they remind you of the world to come." Other religious authorities, however, have prohibited visiting the pyramids because they are tombs of...

It has been said that the period between 760 BCE to 656 BCE in Egypt was the 'age of the black pharaohs'. It was during this time that ancient Egypt was ruled by a dynasty or succession of kings from Nubia, the Kingdom of Kush, a rival African kingdom just to its south in what is today northern Sudan. Beginning with king Kashta's successful invasion of Upper Egypt, what became known as the 25th Dynasty achieved the reunification of Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, and also Kush (Nubia), the largest Egyptian empire since the New Kingdom. They introduced new Kushite cultural...

A Kuwaiti Islamic preacher has raised many eyebrows by echoing the calls made by extremist group Isis to destroy the ancient Egyptian Sphinx and pyramids — one of the seven wonders of the world that has captured the imaginations of people for centuries. The preacher recognised by an Egyptian newspaper as Ibrahim Al Kandari reportedly said that just because early Muslims did not dare destroy them, it did not mean all present-day Muslims must follow them. "The fact that early Muslims who were among Prophet Mohammed's followers did not destroy the pharaoh's monuments upon entering the Egyptian soil, does not mean...

An Islamist preacher from Kuwait called for the demolition of the Giza pyramids and Sphinx "to put an end to idolatry and the worship of such pagan constructions." "The fact that early Muslims did not destroy the pharaohs' legacy upon the Arab conquest of Egypt does not mean that we shouldn't do it now," preacher Ibrahim al-Kandari was quoted by the Kuwaiti Al-Watan daily newspaper Tuesday. The call echoes that of leader of Islamic State (IS) group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who described the destruction of the historic monuments and archaeological sites as a "religious duty," Al-Ahram reported. The alleged call...