The thread on Egyptians reminded me of this:
I recall seeing a program on TLC or Discovery that gave a “history” of the Sphinx.
One of the things that they mentioned was the “it appeared” that the Sphinx had been carved and reshaped multiple times in its history.
Is there any “real” evidence of this?
Also, I saw one guy talking (on a different program) referring to the Sphinx’s nose as having been “smashed.” (His word?)
What’s the SD on that?
Is ther
Supposedly, the nose of the Sphinx was damaged during one of the wars waged on Israel in modern times.
Supposedly? …but not so. First, the Sphinx’s nose was damaged long ago, certainly by the late 1700s or early 1800s. Second, Israeli fighters never got that far into Egypt.
I have heard (and I think this is true, although all sources I find for it aren’t particularly scholarly) that it was damaged in the "Battle of the Pyramids’ between Napoleon’s army and the Turks at Giza. (I’m not joking)
As far as other renovations are concerned, it would be hard to tell whether older damage is intentional or weather-based. Originally it was meant as a portrait of Khephren (who had it built) but by the New Kingdom that connection had been forgotten and it was considered Re-Herakty’s manifestation as a sponsor of whoever happened to be pharoh at the time.
I don’t about real evidence but there’s a guy called Graham Hancock who reckons the Sphinx is about 20,000 years old or so.
He’s written ‘Keeper of Genesis with Robert Bauval’ which touches on the age of the Sphinx.
But he’s also written books on Atlantis, the Ark, the Mars Face etc. so I’d take everything he says with a big pinch of salt.
my theory is that the Sphinx never had a nose to begin with.
I suspect that Khephren never had a nose either 
Mayor of Snerdville, the home of Mortimer Snerd
“I’m just too much for human existence – I should be animated.”
–Wayne Knight
Of course, if you really want to know what happened to the Sphinx’s nose read ‘Asterix and Cleopatra’.
Damn! Bobinelli beat me to it.
Obelix climbs on the sphinx and the nose falls off.
Ok I’ll admit that this guy has written some questionable stuff but…He’s also writen some interesting stuff that he supports with a decent amount of evidence. ( I would suggest that you read a book of his called FINGER PRINTS OF THE GODS) In FINGER PRINTS he suggests that the Sphinx could be much older that modern Egyptoloists suggest. His evidence that he used to support this claim is based on a study done by DR. ANTHONY WEST
(A Geologist) who demonstrates that a great deal of the weathering of the Sphinx is done by water…a great deal of water. He further goes on to explain that the last time the Giza Plateau experienced a “Rainy” period was some time between 15,000 and 20,000 years ago ( I don’t have the book in front of me so don’t crucify me on the numbers but it was something like that)
There are only two things that are infinite…the Universe and Man’s stupidity…I’m not sure about the Universe though.
I have also heard about the geologist who says that erosion at the Sphinx was caused by water and is therefore older than generally thought. I do believe his evidence, and if he does want to be taken seriously he should distance himself from Hancock.
I read about 1/3 of Fingerprints of the Gods before I put it down is disgust. Hancock talks about all this evidence of ancient civilizations but never offers any significant data. I will give him credit on the old maps that show Antarctic, but that is it. He is the modern day Erich Von Daniken.
See those stars over there? That is the Little Dipper. I’d show you the Big Dipper, but my zipper is stuck.
Most theories that I’ve heard hold that the head has been reshaped was probably originally the shape of a lion. Then either in an effort to repair some damage or just to herald some pharoh, it was reshaped to be basically what we see today. This explains why the head is disproportionate to the body and why the face is more flat than it should be and sloped in an odd way.
There’s also supposed to be a hidden chamber below the Sphinx, but the Egyptian government is supposedly blocking all attempts to investigate…
Not making claims, just echoes…
I watched the special where they talked about the water erosion and multiple carving thories. Very interesting in my opinion. The theroy is that it started out as an outcrop that looked a little like a head, then various civilizations did some carving, and eventually the ground around it was removed too, for the “body” that exists today.
I thought that the Egyptologists who were refuting the claims came across badly, their arguments smacked of the same self-serving bunk that refuted continental drift and plate tectonics. The primary point of their arguments was that they didn’t know about any previous carving, and they were the experts, therefore it didn’t happen. I hate that kind of “science”.
On the other hand, there were some good points made about the nature of the erosion and I’ll bet this isn’t dead yet.
He may not have any significant data on the ancient cities that he claims are much older that originally thought but he does raise some interesting questions that need to be answered. I agree with you that he come off as a bit of a hack but I think that his ideas, though not proven or supported by evidence in any way do force us to re-examine our “technological” society and wonder if there is something important that we, as a species, have forgotten. I know the book reads like a self-serving thesis but I would suggest that you slog your way through to the end if for nothing else than to wonder if the questions that he raises have any validity at all.
There are only two things that are infinite…the Universe and Man’s stupidity…I’m not sure about the Universe though.
Oh yeah, almost forgot. Since the Sphinx is not too far from the existing flood plain of the Nile, it’s not too much of a stretch to assume that some of the erosion has been caused by water. This may also illuminate how the Sphinx came to be buried in the sand a few times over it’s documented history.
In a baseball history book, published in 1962, was a picture of some players from the major leagues, at the time the National League and the American Association, posing around “the broken nose of the Sphinx” (wording from picture’s caption). This was in 1888. More recently, a yard customer of mine had a picture of her with her husband posing near the Sphinx, about 1974. The face looked much the same in both pictures.
From a 3 Stooges short:
Shemp (to harem girl): I like your perfume. What brand do you use?
Harem girl: Sphinx.
Shemp: I know, but what brand do you use? 