Sphinx Head - Egypt

The Sphinx is around 20m high, of which the head is about 5m, it is about 57m long. None of which means much in print on a webpage, but it makes for a very impressive statue indeed when seen in real life! The rear end of the sphinx lies in a sort of large ditch. An area of desert was dug out to reveal the rocky protuberance that the sphinx was sculptured from. Unlike the pyramids, it was made from what was already there and not from stone blocks. Having said that, after it was sculptured, it was clad with bricks of limestone to give a smooth surface.

The human head is wearing a nemes headcloth, there were also an asp and false beard that had broken off and were found in the sand.

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