ancient-architects 5 jaar geleden
Ancient Architects #History and Archaeology

Who Re-Carved the Head of the Great Sphinx of Egypt?

Whether or not the Great Sphinx of Egypt was originally a lion, a jackal, a mound with a hawk’s head or simply a piece of weathered natural limestone, we’ll probably never know for sure, but most agree that the head of the Sphinx was re-carved at some poi

In the past I have speculated it was Thutmose IV of the 18th Dynasty - the man behind the Dream Stela, the Saite king Amasis II, who may have been buried in a cavity in its back, the water god Hapi or the ancient goddess Neith.


The official interpretation is that it is the face of Khafre, the 4th Dynasty king and supposed builder of second pyramid on the Giza plateau, whilst others say it is Khufu – the supposed builder of the Great Pyramid – but there is not a shred of evidence available to back this up.


In this video I start my quest to unravel this mystery by analysing what was recorded about the Sphinx from the 18th Dynasty. I look in depth at the name's associated with it - it's personal name Horemakhet, and the name of the god it personifies, Horakhty.


Horakhty is one of the oldest gods in Dynastic Egyptian history and understanding the relationship of this god to The Sphinx and the ruling kings, means we can narrow down our search substantially, before we go into Part 2.


All images are taken from Google Images for educational purposes only.

Matt Sibson
ancient-architects