The Great Sphinx has guarded the Giza Plateau in Egypt for many thousands of years. Despite there being relatively little direct evidence, it is generally assumed that this iconic monument is some 4500 years old, built at the same time as Giza’s great pyramids.
This book challenges the established history of the Giza Necropolis to present the only comprehensive, evidence-led account of the history and ritual meaning of the Great Sphinx. After re-examining the archaeological evidence and then considering the important role of geology, the book concludes that the Great Sphinx and a number of related monuments, were built at Giza in the earliest stages of the Pharaonic Era – in the period before Egypt’s first pyramids were built. Perhaps more surprisingly, evidence emerges that the Great Sphinx may not have been the first monument built at Giza, with indications of ritual activity at this important site, which pre-dates Egypt’s first pharaohs.
By answering these uncertainties regarding the age of the Great Sphinx, a new picture unfolds of what the concept of the human-headed lion meant to the people that originally built it.
Table of Contents:
List of Figures and Tables
Image credits
Acknowledgments
Part 1 - Setting The Scene
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Ancient Egypt
The Early Dynastic Period
The Old Kingdom
The Middle Kingdom
The New Kingdom
The Late Period and Greco-Roman Period
The Basis for our Understanding of the Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom
Chapter 3: The Great Sphinx
The Great Sphinx
The Sphinx Enclosure
Clearing the Sand
Chapter 4: The Giza Necropolis
The Khufu Pyramid Complex
The Khafra Pyramid Complex
The Menkaura Pyramid Complex
The Tomb of Khentkawes
Later Activity at Giza
Chapter 5: The Giza Landscape
The Natural Topography of the Giza Plateau
Ancient Quarrying at Giza
The Influence of Natural Topography on the Development of the Giza Necropolis
Chapter 6: The Conventional View
A Conundrum
Examining the Case for Khafra as the Builder of the Great Sphinx
The Sphinx Temple
The Face of the Great Sphinx
The View of Egyptology
Chapter 7: Giza before Khufu: Mainstream Archaeological Evidence
The Ma’adi Culture
The Southern Escarpment and Main Wadi
Previous Development within the Giza Necropolis?
Reisner’s Evidence for Development Before the Pyramids
Part 2 – Geology Matters
Chapter 8: The Geology of Egypt and the Giza Plateau
The Formation of Rocks and Fossils
Earth Movements
Geological Timescales and the Evolution of the Egyptian Landmass
The First Rivers in Egypt
The Geology of the Giza Plateau
Chapter 9: The Geology of the Great Sphinx
Member I Strata
Member II Strata
Member III Strata
The Degradation of the Great Sphinx
Rainfall in Egypt and the Surface Hydrology of the Giza Plateau
Part 3 – Ancient Egypt’s Earliest Dynasties
Chapter 10: Evidence for an Early Sphinx
The Effect of Quarrying on Run-Off
‘Now Picture to Yourself this Scene!’
What if Khufu had built the Great Sphinx?
The Effects of Modern Rainfall
The Sphinx Temple
The Khafra Causeway
Early Activity at Giza
Chapter 11: Companions of the Early Sphinx
Time for a Re-cap
A Note About Comparisons
The Khafra Valley Temple
The Proto-Mortuary Temple
Khentkawes
The Tomb of Kai
Niched Façade Decoration at Giza
Chapter 12: Building the Great Sphinx
Skills and Experience – A Stone-Working Context for the Early Origins of the Great Sphinx
The Use of Stone in Early Dynastic Egypt
The Great Enclosures of Saqqara
Other Examples of the Early Use of Stone in Construction at Saqqara
The Early Use of Stone in Construction at Other Sites
Late Second Dynasty Royal Tombs
The Third Dynasty
The Second Dynasty: An Important Period for Stone Masonry
Objection!!
Part 4 – The History of the Great Sphinx
Chapter 13: The Origins of the Sphinx
Ancient Records: Towards an Understanding of the Concept of the Sphinx
Ancient Egypt’s Complex Religion
The Netjerikhet Stela
Serpents, Jackals and Lions: Interpreting the Decoration of the Netjerikhet Stela
Mehen: The Board Game
The Concept of the Sphinx
Chapter 14: The Rise of the Sun-God
Early Pharaonic Associations with Ra
The Role of Iunu
The Power and Authority of Pharaoh
The Development of the Great Sphinx of Giza
From Lion to Sphinx
The Sphinx and the Ba
The Rise of the Sun-God
Chapter 15: The Great Sphinx of Giza
The Copper-Age at Giza
Appendices
Appendix A: Original Ground Levels in the Vicinity of the Great Sphinx
1. The Low Hill at the Eastern Edge of the Giza Plateau
2. Lehner’s Original Ground Level Model
3. Summary and Conclusions
Appendix B: The Sequence of Construction of the Great Sphinx, the Khafra Valley Temple and the Sphinx Temple
1. Introduction
2. The Mainstream Sequence of Construction
Summary: The Mainstream Sequence of Construction
3. The Sequence of Construction Starting with the Great Sphinx
Summary: The Alternative Sequence of Construction
4. The Most Likely Sequence of Construction
Appendix C: Mapping the Member II Strata at Giza
1. Introduction
2. The Process Used
3. Strata Exposed at the Khentkawes Tomb and the Tomb of Kai
Bibliography
Index
About the Author :
Colin D Reader is a geologist with over thirty years’ experience working in the construction industry and a deep interest in ancient Egypt. He has published papers in a number of peer-reviewed Egyptology journals and in his first book, A Gift of Geology, he examined the influence of Egypt’s geology and landscape on the developing cultures of the Nile Valley. He worked as project geologist for the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project, mapping the soils and rocks of North Saqqara, and has travelled extensively in Egypt.
