Why was the Sphinx built at Giza?

Dissenting researchers argue that the usual Khafre-era explanation may not account for the Sphinx’s weathering, unusual proportions, or later religious development. Geological arguments have placed its initial carving as early as the Neolithic period, with later Egyptian refurbishment; other analyses reject that redating and attribute the weathering to mechanisms compatible with the Old Kingdom. These disputes leave the original purpose especially uncertain.

• Robert Schoch argues that geological and related evidence points to initial carving between approximately 7000 and 5000 BCE, followed by later reworking, possibly under Khafre.
• The alternative dating rests heavily on interpretations of rainfall-related erosion, while critics argue salt weathering and other processes could explain the features within a later date.
• Some researchers emphasize unresolved anomalies, including the Sphinx’s unusual length and the possibility that objects or structures once stood between its paws.
• Later identification of the Sphinx with the sun god Re-Horakhty may reflect an important religious role, but does not by itself prove the monument’s original purpose.

Featured sourceGreat Sphinx of Egypt Geological Evidence Maybe of Age Robert Schochrobertschoch.net5 sourcesView sources