Ancient World Review

Who Built The Great Sphinx Of Giza?

"Who built the Sphinx? The most compelling evidence that the Sphinx was built for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khafre during his reign (2520-2494 BC) is in the architecture, geology, and archaeology of the Sphinx and its related monuments." Source: Ancient Egypt Research Association.

Khafre ruled during the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. He was the son of Pharoah Khufu, thought to have commissioned the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Khufu had another son, King Djedefre, but "until recently, experts thought that King Djedefre was a murderer and outcast who couldn't possibly have had the power to create the Great Sphinx," (Smithsonian Magazine (2013?)). The new evidence described in the above video "makes him a more likely candidate."

It's possible that the sphinx actually shows the face of Khufu, rather than Khafre or Djedefre.

There's also a possibility that the Sphinx predates the 4th Dynasty. This theory is controversial, but if true it would mean that the statue wasn't built by any of these pharaohs:

 "More recently, a new theory emerged that places the statue’s origins much further back, to some 9,000 years ago. Supporters of this hypothesis point to extensive erosion of the limestone near the top of the Great Sphinx, arguing that the last time the region experienced enough rainfall in the region to cause this type of erosion on limestone was 7000 B.C." Source: The History Channel (2015).

"More traditional Egyptologists reject this view for several reasons," according to NBC News (1999). "First, a Sphinx built earlier than 7000 B.C. would upset our understanding of ancient civilization, as there is no evidence of an Egyptian civilization this old."

One outlandish theory -- that the pyramids and the sphinx were built by refugees from Atlantis -- led to an interesting discovery.

The possibility that the Sphinx predates Egyptian civilization itself has led to all sorts of speculation that the statue was actually constructed by aliens. Why aliens would build a statue of a lion's body with or without a human head (the original may have been the head of a lion) has never really been explained as far as I know. Presumably, the statue had some kind of astronomical significance, but never mind that. The problem with the Ancient UFO crowd is that they immediately turn to aliens whenever they run into one of these ancient mysteries. Even if the Sphinx was built before the Egyptians came along -- which I doubt -- it would only prove, once again, that prehistoric people were a lot more advanced than we have been led to believe.

Related: 10 Bizarre Theories About The Pyramids That DON'T Involve Aliens

Why Was The Great Sphinx Of Giza Built?

"The Great Sphinx of Giza (... English: The Terrifying One; literally: Father of Dread)... is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human. Facing directly from West to East, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx is generally believed to represent the Pharaoh Khafre." (Wikipedia)

The Terrifying One may have a more complicated history, however. According to Colin Reader, an English geologist, it's possible that the Sphinx wasn't originally a statue of the pharaoh at all. It may have been a lion, a representation of the sun god. The pharaoh's out-of-proportion head may have been added later, turning the statue into a sphinx.

"Colin Reader has proposed that the Sphinx was the focus of solar worship in the Early Dynastic Period, before the Giza Plateau became a necropolis in the Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2134 BC). He ties this in with his conclusions that the Sphinx, the Sphinx temple, the Causeway and the Khafra mortuary temple are all part of a complex which predates Dynasty IV (c. 2613–2494 BC). The lion has long been a symbol associated with the sun in ancient Near Eastern civilizations." (Wikipedia)

"... In the New Kingdom, the Sphinx became more specifically associated with the sun god Hor-em-akhet ... or 'Horus-at-the-Horizon' ..."

Reader's controversial theories are based on the premise that the sphinx is far older than commonly believed. He apparently agrees with the water-erosion hypothesis, "a fringe claim contending that the main type of weathering evident on the enclosure walls of the Great Sphinx was caused by prolonged and extensive rainfall that would have predated the time of Djedefre and Khafre, the Pharaohs credited by most modern Egyptologists with building the Great Sphinx and Second Pyramid at Giza around 2500 BC." (Wikipedia) "Egyptologists, geologists and others have rejected the water erosion hypothesis and the idea of an older Sphinx, offering various alternative explanations for the cause and date of the erosion."

In the next video, Robert Schoch, an associate professor of Natural Sciences at Boston University, explains the water-erosion hypothesis on the Joe Rogan show.

The reason why the sphinx was built depends, in large part, on how old the statue is. Reader and Shoch's theories may be "fringe," but the truth is that we really don't know much about the sphinx to begin with:

"The Great Sphinx is one of the world's largest and oldest statues, but basic facts about it are still subject to debate, such as when it was built, by whom and for what purpose." (Wikipedia)

"... It is impossible to identify what name the creators called their statue, as the Great Sphinx does not appear in any known inscription of the Old Kingdom and there are no inscriptions anywhere describing its construction or its original purpose. In the New Kingdom, the Sphinx was revered as the solar deity Hor-em-akhet ... and the pharaoh Thutmose IV (1401–1391 or 1397–1388 BC) specifically referred to it as such in his 'Dream Stele'".

"Little Foot" Skull Reveals How 3-Million Year Old Human Ancestor Lived

Video from 2017.

"High-resolution micro-CT scanning of the skull of the fossil specimen known as 'Little Foot' has revealed some aspects of how this Australopithecus species used to live more than 3 million years ago." Source: Phys.org.

"The meticulous excavation, cleaning and scanning of the skull of the ~3.67 million-year-old fossil specimen has revealed the most complete Australopithecus adult first cervical vertebra yet found."

Note: "'Little Foot' ... is the nickname given to a nearly complete Australopithecus fossil skeleton found in 1994–1998 in the cave system of Sterkfontein, South Africa. The nickname 'little foot' was given to the fossil in 1995. From the structure of the four ankle bones they were able to ascertain that the owner was able to walk upright. The recovery of the bones proved extremely difficult and tedious, because they are completely embedded in concrete-like rock. It is due to this that the recovery and excavation of the site took around 15 years to complete." (Wikipedia)

Video from 2011.

I'm not sure if this has been resolved yet, but there was some controversy about the identification of Little Foot:

"Based on earlier data, many paleoanthropologists thought Little Foot was a member of Australopithecus africanus, a well-established lineage of upright walkers that lived between 3.3 million and 2.1 million years ago. Many other South African specimens, including some from the very same cave, have been assigned to the species." Source: Science (2018).

"But [one expert] argues that a number of features differentiate Little Foot—and at least a dozen other nearby fossils—from A. africanus. These include larger, flatter faces with a wider distance between eye sockets; larger canines and forward-tilting incisors; larger mandibles; and slightly concave foreheads. Differences in teeth wear indicate A. africanus was omnivorous, whereas Little Foot and her kin were mostly vegetarian ... Together ... that suggests two species of hominins were living near the caves some 3 million years ago."

Video from 2018.

A 10,000-Year-Old Massacre In Kenya

"The fossilised bones of a group of prehistoric hunter-gatherers who were massacred around 10,000 years ago have been unearthed 30km west of Lake Turkana, Kenya, at a place called Nataruk." Source: University of Cambridge (2016).

"...The findings suggest these hunter-gatherers, perhaps members of an extended family, were attacked and killed by a rival group of prehistoric foragers. Researchers believe it is the earliest scientifically-dated historical evidence of human conflict – an ancient precursor to what we call warfare."

Comment: Finds like this -- and there have been a lot of them -- should put to rest the anarcho-primitivist fantasy that humans lived in a state of peaceful coexistence before the invention of agriculture.

Egyptian-Blue Pigment Used To Create New Nanomaterial

Video from 2018.

"Egyptian blue is one of the oldest humanmade colour pigments. It adorns the crown of the world famous bust of Nefertiti: but the pigment can do even more. An international research team has produced a new nanomaterial based on the Egyptian blue pigment, which is ideally suited for applications in imaging using near infrared spectroscopy and microscopy." Source: Science Daily.

Video from 2014.

Note: "The ancient Egyptians held the color blue in very high regard and were eager to present it on many media and in a variety of forms. They also desired to imitate the semiprecious stones turquoise and lapis lazuli, which were valued for their rarity and stark blue color. Use of naturally occurring minerals such as azurite to acquire this blue was impractical, as these minerals were rare and difficult to work. Therefore, to have access to the large quantities of blue color to meet demand, the Egyptians needed to manufacture the pigment themselves." (Wikipedia)

Rare Gabon Burial Cave Reveals Clues To African History

"The discovery of a 14th century underground burial site deep in Gabon's tropical forest may shed light on a little known period in Africa's history." Source: Archaeology News Network.

"Hundreds of mediaeval artefacts are scattered with human remains at the bottom of a cave in the southeast of the country, discovered by a French geo-archaeologist in 2018."

Note: If the dating here is correct, this find predates the first European contact in the 15th century. According to Wikipedia, "The earliest inhabitants of the area were Pygmy peoples. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes as they migrated [the great Bantu expansion thought to have taken place between 3000 and 2000 years ago].

An interesting, though completely unrelated fact about Gabon is that Black Bart, a Welsh pirate, died in a sea battle off Cape Lopez in 1722. According to Wikipedia, Black Bart "raided ships off the Americas and West Africa between 1719 and 1722. He was the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy as measured by vessels captured, taking over 400 prizes in his career."

"Ghost" Of Mysterious Hominin Ancestor Found In West African Genomes

"Ancestors of modern West Africans interbred with a yet-undiscovered species of archaic human, similar to how ancient Europeans mated with Neanderthals, researchers report." Source: Archaeology News Network.

"Their work helps inform how archaic hominins added to the genetic variation of present-day Africans, which has been poorly understood, in part because of the sparse fossil record in Africa and the difficulty of obtaining ancient DNA."

Senet: The Ancient Egyptian Game Of Death

"Senet (or senat) is a board game from ancient Egypt, whose original rules are the subject of conjecture. The oldest hieroglyph resembling a senet game dates to around 3100 BC. The full name of the game in Egyptian is thought to have been zn.t n.t ḥˁb, meaning the 'game of passing.'" (Wikipedia)

"Senet is one of the oldest known board games. Fragmentary boards that could be senet have been found in First Dynasty burials in Egypt, c. 3100 BC. A hieroglyph resembling a senet board appears in the tomb of Merknera (3300-2700 BC). The first unequivocal painting of this ancient game is from the Third Dynasty tomb of Hesy (c. 2686–2613 BC). People are depicted playing senet in a painting in the tomb of Rashepes, as well as from other tombs of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties (c. 2500 BC). The oldest intact senet boards date to the Middle Kingdom, but graffiti on Fifth and Sixth Dynasty monuments could date as early as the Old Kingdom."

Related: Eleven Ancient Board Games.

Virtual Autopsy: Gebelein Man

"This man died more than five thousand years ago and was buried at the site of Gebelein, in Upper Egypt. The reconstruction of his grave illustrates the early Egyptian custom of placing the body in a contracted, foetal position, usually on the left side, with the head to the south, facing the west, the land of the dead where he would be reborn. Around him were all the things he might need for his afterlife, especially pottery to hold and serve food." Source: Khan Academy

"In the Predynastic period (4400-3100 B.C.E.), the time before the pharaohs, the dead were buried in shallow graves cut into the desert sand. The graves were often lined with reed mats, making them like a bed, and the body was covered with linen or skins and more mats, like a blanket, before the grave was refilled and perhaps topped by a mound of dirt. Contact with the hot dry sand naturally preserved the bodies because the sand absorbed the water that constitutes approximately 75% by weight of the human body. Bacteria cannot breed without moisture and as a result, the bodies frequently did not decay, but simply dried out. The body of this man is remarkably well-preserved, even down to his finger-nails and hair, which has probably faded with time."

Video from 2014.

According to a 2012 story in The Telegraph, Gebelein Man was "almost certainly murdered by an assailant who caught him by surprise." An autopsy conducted with digital imaging and scanning technology concluded that "[h]is injuries suggest he was the victim of a deliberate, violent killing during a period of peace, with his shoulder blade damaged and the rib underneath shattered in a manner consistent with a stab wound." More information on this "ancient cold case" can be found at BBC News (2012).

Volubilis - Capital Of Mauretania Tingitana

Volubilis dates back to at least the 3rd or 4th centuries B.C., according to the Oxford Classical Dictionary (OCD). Originally built by the Berbers in the ancient kingdom of Mauretania in northwest Africa, "it soon became thoroughly Punicized, with suffetes as chief magistrates." (A suffete was a "non-royal magistrate" appointed to run a city, according to Wikipedia). Volubilis developed into a city-state controlled by Carthage until Carthage (around 146 BC) was defeated by Rome, which turned Mauretania Tingitana into one of its African provinces.

According to the OCD, "...the countryside around Volubilis was [...] extensively settled with farms in the 1st cent. AD and reached its greatest prosperity in the 2nd cent. [...] Both Volubilis and surrounding farms were abandoned c.285 as a result of the Diocletianic reorganization of [the province]."

"Volubilis contains essentially Roman vestiges of a fortified municipium built on a commanding site at the foot of the Jebel Zerhoun [plateau of Zerhoun Mountain]. Covering an area of 42 hectares, it is of outstanding importance demonstrating urban development and Romanisation at the frontiers of the Roman Empire and the graphic illustration of the interface between the Roman and indigenous cultures. Because of its isolation and the fact that it had not been occupied for nearly a thousand years, it presents an important level of authenticity. It is one of the richest sites of this period in North Africa, not only for its ruins but also for the great wealth of its epigraphic evidence." Source: UNESCO World Heritage List.

The site of Volubilis dates back to prehistoric times, according to A Guide To The Ancient World by Michael Grant, and "... there is evidence of Phoenician (Carthaginian) and Libyo-Phoenician influence from the third and second centuries BC."

Volubilis apparently prospered under Juba II [1], Rome's client king (25 BC - AD 23) of Mauretania, and remained loyal to the Romans when Juba's successor, Ptolomaeus, "was murdered in AD 40 and the Mauretanians revolted against the Romans. Volubilus, under the command of its chief local official and chief priest Marcus Valerius Severus ... took the Roman side, and after Claudius's establishment of two provinces four years later," the city became an official Roman municipium.

[1] Juba II was married to Antony and Cleopatra's daughter, Cleopatra Selene II.

According to Wikipedia, "The city fell to local tribes around 285 [AD] and was never retaken by Rome because of its remoteness and indefensibility on the south-western border of the Roman Empire. It continued to be inhabited for at least another 700 years, first as a Latinised Christian community, then as an early Islamic settlement. In the late 8th century it became the seat of Idris ibn Abdallah, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty and the state of Morocco. By the 11th century Volubilis had been abandoned after the seat of power was relocated to Fes [?]. Much of the local population was transferred to the new town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, about 5 km (3.1 mi) from Volubilis."

Related: Roman Africa - Historical Atlas of the Mediterranean. (Volubilis doesn't appear on this map.)

Map of ancient Africa or Libya (Volubilis is on this map, but it's not easy to find. Enlarge and scroll around in Mauretania.)