Sphinx head is carved from harder quality stone than the body - found in unique geological layers at Giza. The Sphinx is cut from the lowest layers of the Mokattam Formation, those layers lying directly on the hard, petrified reef. Most of the lion body and south walls are carved from softer layers above. The head layers are found nowhere else in central Giza except near the original quarry area. Scholars have proposed the head marks the original plateau surface, and the original surface in the Sphinx area may have had considerable rise or hok (knoll).
Sphinx head stone harder than body, origin puzzling
EgyptTheory
Key facts
- Sphinx head is carved from harder quality stone than body layers
- Head layers found nowhere else in central Giza except near Khent-Kawes Monument
- Pore and Mal in 1974 suggested head corresponds to uppermost Mokattam formation
- Ryner in 1942 proposed head marks original plateau surface from quarry nodule
- Original surface in Sphinx area may have had considerable rise or hok (knoll)
- Much stone was quarried away creating the Sphinx from the plateau
Site mentioned
Sources
Great Sphinx of Giza - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
The monument was sculpted from the limestone bedrock of the Eocene-aged Mokattam Formation and faces east on the Giza Plateau, on the west bank of the Nile in ...
Geology of the Sphinx|AERA - Ancient Egypt Research Associatesaeraweb.org
The Sphinx is cut from the lowest layers of the Mokkatam Formation, those layers lying directly on the harder petrified reef.
Geologic Study of the Sphinx - Hall of Maathallofmaat.com
Located at the southeastern flank of the Giza Plateau, the Sphinx is carved from the middle Eocene limestone of the upper Mokattam Formation.
Mehit's Stump: Unmasking the Great Sphinx of Giza - Scirp.org.scirp.org
“The Sphinx is cut from the lowest layers of the Mokattam Formation, those layers lying directly on the hard, petrified reef. Most of the lion body and south ...
Did Nature Have a Hand in the Formation of the Great Sphinx?nyu.edu
Researchers turn to erosion in exploring the role natural elements had in building an architectural wonder.
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