Sphinx head stone harder than body, origin puzzling. 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
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).
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
Related site: Great Sphinx of Giza — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: The Sphinx - Part 2 - Geological Context by History, Myths & Legends