Overview of Egypt Pyramids:
Great Sphinx of Giza is a half human, half lion structure, 240 feet long and 66
feet high and located in Egypt's Giza plateau, west bank of Nile river. The
Sphinx was carved from a single block of limestone and is the largest
single-stone statue in the world. There are lot of theories around who built and
when but most common belief is that it was sculpted in the 4th Dynasty about
4,600 years ago by the Pharaoh Khafre, whose Pyramid rises just behind it. The
Great Sphinx was believed to stand as a guardian of the Giza Plateau, where it
faces the rising sun. The monument was given the name 'Sphinx' due to its
likeness to a Greek legend of a creature with the head of a woman, the body of a
lion, and the wings of a bird. Several tourists get their picture taken on
camel back with this Egypt' Great pyramid on the background.
The Great Sphinx of Giza has recently undergone a major modern restoration, but
its first restoration attempt dates back to 1400 BC. A piece of stone
covered in writing called the Dream Stella tells of a young prince (believed to
be Thutmose IV) who fell asleep against the parts untouched by the sand drifts
and dreamed the sphinx talked to him, promising him kingship over Egypt if he
could clear all of the sand. There were three tunnels built in the
Sphinx, but the time has left the destinations unreachable and the tunnels
themselves seem to basically stop short. The body of the Sphinx was made of a
softer limestone strata which in turn consists of alternate harder and softer
layers. These alternate layers are visible on site as weathered corrugation,
which is about two feet deep into the bedrock. The base of this Giza's Sphinx, as well as the bottom
are made of a harder limestone which is resistant to the effects of the natural
elements. Its said the nose was broken off by Napoleon's soldiers but older
sketches of Giza Sphinx reveal that the nose might have been broken off much
earlier. Pyramids were meant to be monuments to the pharaoh's greatness,
filled with great treasures for the afterlife. .
