Why does the sphinx have water erosion

For what it is worth, some have suggested to me that this may be a "Hall of Records" at the time I was not aware of Edgar Cayce's predictions along these lines. Additionally, we found some lesser and previously known cavities under and around the Sphinx, and the data also indicates that there may be a tunnel-like feature running the length of the body.

Back in the early s, when I first suggested that the Great Sphinx was much older than generally believed at the time, I was challenged by Egyptologists who asked, "Where is the evidence of that earlier civilization? They were sure that sophisticated culture, what we call civilization, did not exist prior to about or BCE. A major mystery has been why these early glimmerings of civilization and high culture disappeared, only to reemerge thousands of years later.

I have now developed a theory, backed up by scientific evidence, to explain why. This I elaborate on in my book, Forgotten Civilization. According to Robert Temple, a moat theory explains the water weathering of the Sphinx without hypothesizing that it dates back to an earlier period of more rainfall than the present.

I will not address his other hypotheses, which I do not find persuasive, that the Sphinx was the jackal [wild dog] Anubis Anubis, associated with the dead and the afterlife, would look to the west, not face east as the Sphinx does and the face seen on the Sphinx is that of the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Amenemhet II, though I note the original Sphinx has been reworked and the head re-carved. For a review of the evidence bearing on the age and significance of the Great Sphinx, see my book with Robert Bauval, Origins of the Sphinx.

While in Egypt recently I looked at the Great Sphinx with fresh eyes. I will summarize half a dozen points. These limestone temples were subsequently refurbished with Aswan granite facings during the Old Kingdom. The moat theory cannot explain the nature of the very ancient weathering seen on the temple blocks under the Old Kingdom granite veneer.

This is due to ancient rains and the paleohydrology of the area. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info. The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human. It stands within the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile and is said to have been built to protect Pharaoh Khafre.

It is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt and is believed to have been designed, sculpted, and constructed by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom, roughly 4, years ago. But that could soon be a theory of the past, according to author and researcher Anyextee , who revealed an alternative hypothesis on his YouTube channel.

First, a Sphinx built earlier than B. Also, the new theory focuses only on a specific type of erosion and ignores other evidence that would support an age of 4, years. Among these: The Sphinx is a rapidly weathering structure, appearing older than it is; subsurface water drainage or Nile flooding could have produced the pattern of erosion; and the Sphinx is believed to resemble Khafre, the pharaoh who built one of the nearby pyramids of Giza.

He lived circa B. In either case, e-mail your suggestions to mysteries msnbc.