Numerous legends surround its mysterious appearance. One of these mysteries can now be solved. A team of researchers is convinced they can reconstruct the true origin story of the Great Sphinx of Giza.
Historians have long agreed that the 4,500-year-old statue’s face was created by ancient stonemasons. But how did your striking body come about?
This question had already divided scientists. Since the 1980s, experts have argued that desert wind formed the contours of the Sphinx. However, there was no proof of this.
Until now. Because this theory has been tested by New York scientists in a new study.
Miniature experiment with water
A research team led by Professor Leif Ristroph of New York University allowed running water to wash away several pieces of clay. The result was mini clay lions – and this led researchers to believe that wind could create similar shapes in desert rocks.
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Video footage showed a lion-like shape emerging as water increasingly eroded the soft, erodible clay, leaving behind a plastic cylinder contained within the clay figures.
Researcher: “We were impressed”
“We were struck by its resemblance to a lion sitting or resting,” says Ristroph. The researchers concluded that the Great Sphinx was one of these natural formations, which was later slightly modified by the ancient Egyptians.
For the experiment, the team relied on a 1981 theory by geologist Farouk El-Baz. He stated that the Sphinx Formation was originally flat and was gradually eroded by wind.
The former NASA scientist believed that the pyramid builders were aware of these natural processes and deliberately built their mound-like stone structures to ensure longevity. “Today, the pyramids of Giza are in perfect harmony with the windy environment,” El-Baz said at the time.
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“If the ancients had built their monuments in the shape of a cube, a rectangle or even a stadium, they would have been destroyed long ago by devastating wind erosion.”
El-Baz also put forward the theory that a so-called yardang could have emerged on the Giza plateau. This is the name given to unusual rock formations that occur in deserts and are usually formed from dust and sand by the wind.
Ristroph agrees with these assumptions: “Our results provide a simple origin theory for how sphinx-like formations can form through erosion,” he said.
In fact, there are yardangs that look like sitting or lying animals, which corroborates the researchers’ conclusions.