Original subtitles

Narrator: THE GREAT SPHINX OF EGYPT,

MORE THAN 4,000 YEARS OLD,

AND PERHAPS THE MOST ICONIC STATUE IN THE WORLD.

NEVER HAD EGYPT SEEN SCULPTURE ON SUCH A SCALE.

Narrator: THIS HUMAN-HEADED LION HAS PUZZLED ARCHAEOLOGISTS

FOR GENERATIONS.

WHAT WAS THE SPHINX FOR?

THE EGYPTIANS ACTUALLY THOUGHT

THAT THESE STATUES DID THINGS.

THEY HAD POWER.

Narrator: TODAY, PIONEERING TECHNOLOGIES...

REVEAL NEW TRUTHS.

THERE'S NO SMOKING GUN.

THERE'S NO SIGNATURE LEFT ON THE SPHINX,

BUT THERE ARE CLUES.

Narrator: TO UNRAVEL THE MYSTERY OF THE SPHINX,

WE WILL VENTURE DEEP INSIDE THIS ASTONISHING MONUMENT.

WE WILL EXPLORE ITS EXTRAORDINARY TEMPLES

AND INVESTIGATE ITS ABANDONED WATERWAYS

TO REVEAL THE HIDDEN SECRETS

AT THE HEART OF THIS ANCIENT WONDER.

*

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

THE GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA SITS

IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF MODERN-DAY CAIRO.

IT APPEARS TO GUARD

AN ANCIENT COMPLEX OF TEMPLES AND PYRAMIDS.

THESE TOWERING MONUMENTS WERE BUILT AS TOMBS

FOR THE GREAT KINGS OF EGYPT.

WE KNOW WHICH PHARAOH EACH PYRAMID WAS BUILT FOR,

BECAUSE THE EGYPTIANS LEFT PLENTY OF CLUES BEHIND.

THE PYRAMIDS ARE MORE OBVIOUS.

THEY SEEM TO BE COLOSSAL, GIGANTIC TOMBS

TO THE DECEASED PHARAOH.

WE KNOW THAT FROM TEXTS.

WE DON'T HAVE THOSE TEXTS FOR THE SPHINX,

SO WE HAVE TO GO ON CONTEXT INSTEAD OF HIEROGLYPHICS.

Narrator: THE IDENTITY

OF THE PHARAOH THAT BUILT THE SPHINX

IS ONE OF THE MOST ENDURING MYSTERIES IN EGYPTOLOGY.

TODAY, INVESTIGATORS USE NEW FORENSIC TECHNIQUES...

AND MAPPING TECHNOLOGY

TO SEE THE SPHINX AS THEY NEVER HAVE BEFORE.

THE HEAD OF THE SPHINX IS BIGGER

THAN THE HEAD OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

IT'S CARVED FROM LAYERS OF ANCIENT LIMESTONE

AND TOWERS 65 FEET ABOVE THE DESERT SAND.

IT HAS A MASSIVE BODY,

AS LONG AS A JUMBO JET.

AND UNDER HUNDREDS OF PROTECTIVE LIMESTONE TILES...

...ITS GIGANTIC PAWS STRETCH OUT LONGER THAN A CITY BUS.

BUT SURPRISINGLY,

THE STEEP-SIDED HOLLOW THAT THE SPHINX SITS IN

OFFERS THE BEST CLUE TO WHO BUILT IT.

EGYPTOLOGIST MARK LEHNER BELIEVES THE EGYPTIANS DUG DOWN

TO CREATE THE SPHINX,

REMOVING THOUSANDS OF TONS OF STONE

TO SHAPE THE STATUE'S MASSIVE BODY.

TODAY, THE STEEP-SIDED PIT WALLS THAT SURROUND THE SPHINX

STILL BEAR THE ANCIENT SCARS

OF THIS MAMMOTH EXCAVATION.

Lehner: YOU HAVE TO IMAGINE WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.

THIS ENTIRE VOLUME OF QUARRY WAS BEING WORKED.

BLOCKS WERE BEING TAKEN AWAY IN THE FORM OF, YOU KNOW,

MASSIVE STONES, 100 TONS IN WEIGHT.

Narrator: MARK BELIEVES FINDING THESE QUARRIED STONES

IS THE KEY TO REVEALING WHO BUILT THE SPHINX.

HE SUSPECTS THE BLOCKS DIDN'T GO FAR.

THESE RUINS THAT SIT AT THE PAWS OF THE SPHINX

WERE ONCE LAVISH TEMPLES

BUILT BY THE GREAT PHARAOH KHAFRE.

MARK IS CONVINCED THE SAME PHARAOH

CREATED BOTH THE SPHINX AND THE TEMPLES

AT THE SAME TIME.

I THINK THEY MUST'VE TAKEN THE STONE FROM THE QUARRY

THAT MADE THE SPHINX

AND MOVED THEM DIRECTLY TO THE FRONT

FOR MAKING THE TEMPLE.

Narrator: TO PROVE HIS THEORY, MARK NEEDS HARD EVIDENCE.

HE COMPARES THE DISTINCT LAYERS THAT RUN THROUGH BOTH

THE TEMPLE STONES AND THE CHEST OF THE SPHINX,

HOPING TO FIND A PERFECT MATCH.

Lehner: IF YOU LOOK AT THE BEDROCK BODY OF THE SPHINX,

FOR EXAMPLE, ITS CHEST, YOU SEE THE SAME LAYERING,

THE SAME SOFT, HARD, SOFT, HARD SEQUENCE

THAT WE SEE RUNNING THROUGH

THE MASSIVE STONES OF THE SPHINX TEMPLE.

Narrator: THESE DISTINCTIVE BENDS

THAT RUN THROUGH BOTH STRUCTURES

ARE NATURAL LAYERS,

FORMED LONG BEFORE THE EGYPTIANS CAME TO POWER.

MORE THAN 50 MILLION YEARS AGO,

GIZA WAS A WARM, TROPICAL LAGOON

TEEMING WITH LIFE.

DEAD CREATURES COLLECTED ON THE SEAFLOOR...

AND TRANSFORMED INTO DISTINCT LAYERS OF LIMESTONE.

AS EARTH'S CLIMATE CHANGED, THE SEAS RETREATED,

LEAVING BEHIND AN OPEN SPACE

WITHOUT CROPS OF LIMESTONE.

MARK BELIEVES THAT MORE THAN 4,000 YEARS AGO,

THE EGYPTIANS CUT AWAY THIS LAYERED ROCK

TO FORM THE SPHINX.

MARK WORKS WITH FOSSIL EXPERT RICHARD REDDING

TO SEARCH FOR GEOLOGICAL SIGNATURES

HIDDEN WITHIN THE STONE BLOCKS.

THE THICKNESS OF THE DIFFERENT COLORED LAYERS

AND THE TYPES OF FOSSILS THEY CONTAIN

GIVE EACH BLOCK A UNIQUE FINGERPRINT.

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN THERE, RICHARD,

IN THIS YELLOW MARLY BAND?

Redding: WELL, IT'S A LOT OF FOSSILS.

YOU DO HAVE A NUMBER HERE.

HERE. OH, RIGHT HERE.

THAT'S A SPINY OYSTER SHELL, RIGHT THERE.

AND WE'VE GOT BUNCH OF NUMMULITES,

THESE COIN-SHAPED THINGS.

THERE'S...

Narrator: AFTER YEARS OF WORK,

MARK NOW HAS A UNIQUE FINGERPRINT

FOR EVERY BLOCK IN THIS TEMPLE.

TO SHOW THE TEMPLE AND THE SPHINX WERE BUILT

AT THE SAME TIME, BY THE SAME PHARAOH,

HE HOPES TO MATCH THE TEMPLE STONES

BACK TO THE LOCATIONS THEY WERE CUT FROM

AROUND THE SPHINX.

FIRST, MARK COMPARES THE THICKNESS OF THE LAYERS

TO SEE IF HE CAN FIND A PERFECT MATCH

WITH ANY OF THE TEMPLE BLOCKS.

YEAH, 15.75.

Narrator: THE LAYERS ARE A GOOD MATCH,

BUT TO SEAL THE DEAL,

RICHARD LOOKS TO SEE IF THE FOSSILS MATCH, TOO.

Redding: THAT IS ANOTHER SPINY OYSTER.

SPINY OYSTER, WHICH MATCHES PERFECTLY OUR BLOCK DOWN THERE.

YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF THE SMALL NUMMULITES,

HARDLY ANY OF THE LARGE NUMMULITES.

SO, YEAH, THIS IS A -- THIS FOSSIL COMMUNITY IS VERY,

VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT DOWN

AT THE SPHINX TEMPLE.

SO IT'S A GOOD MATCH.

Narrator: THERE IS STILL WORK TO DO,

BUT THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT MARK'S THEORY IS CORRECT.

EVERY STONE IN THE TEMPLE WAS ORIGINALLY QUARRIED

FROM THE SIDES OF THE GIANT LION.

USING THIS MYTHOLOGICAL APPROACH,

MARK BELIEVES HE CAN MATCH EACH

AND EVERY BLOCK IN THE TEMPLES

TO THEIR ORIGINAL POSITION INSIDE THE SPHINX ENCLOSURE.

TWO BLOCKS FROM THE FRONT WALL OF THE TEMPLE

MATCH THE MID-CHEST OF THE SPHINX.

THE GEOLOGICAL LAYERS AND THE FOSSILS INSIDE THEM

ARE THE SAME.

MORE BLOCKS FROM THE TEMPLE PERFECTLY ALIGN

WITH THE FLOOR OF THE SPHINX ENCLOSURE.

AND THE MATCHES KEEP ON COMING --

LAYER AFTER LAYER OF STONE...

COMPLETELY FILLING THE QUARRY.

IDENTIFYING THE SOURCE OF THESE TEMPLE BLOCKS

PROVIDES IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE

OF WHICH PHARAOH BUILT THIS MONUMENT.

Lehner: SO IF KHAFRE BUILT THE SPHINX TEMPLE,

IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN KHAFRE WHO MADE THE SPHINX,

BECAUSE THEY WERE PART OF THE SAME PROCESS.

Narrator: INSPIRED BY THE COLOSSAL PYRAMIDS

OF HIS PREDECESSORS,

KHAFRE SEEMED DETERMINED TO GO ONE BETTER.

HE NOT ONLY BUILT A HUGE PYRAMID,

BUT A GIANT STATUE THAT HISTORIANS BELIEVED

WAS CARVED WITH AN IMAGE OF HIS OWN FACE.

BUT WHY DID THE GREAT PHARAOH KHAFRE DECIDE

TO PLACE HIS LIKENESS

ON THE BODY OF A GIANT LION?

NEW TECHNOLOGIES MAY BE ABOUT TO REVEAL...

THE ASTONISHING TRUTH.

*

Narrator: THE GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA --

THIS ANCIENT SCULPTURE IS UNSURPASSED

IN ITS SCALE AND AMBITION.

Lehner: NEVER BEFORE HAD ANYTHING LIKE THIS

BEEN SEEN IN EGYPT.

NO COLOSSAL STATUE THIS SIZE,

THIS SCALE EXISTED.

Narrator: EGYPTIAN STONE MASONS

CUT THE SPHINX FROM LIMESTONE BEDROCK

MORE THAN 4,000 YEARS AGO,

MOST LIKELY TO HONOR THE GREAT PHARAOH KHAFRE.

HISTORIANS BELIEVE THE HUMAN FEATURES OF THE SPHINX

ARE A DIRECT LIKENESS OF THE PHARAOH HIMSELF.

BUT OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THE HARSH DESERT WIND

HAS SANDBLASTED KHAFRE'S CARVED FEATURES AWAY,

LEAVING JUST A FEW TANTALIZING CLUES

AS TO HOW THE SCULPTURE ORIGINALLY LOOKED.

THE DEEP CUTS IN THE FACE ARE CHISEL MARKS LEFT BY VANDALS

WHO CHOPPED OFF THE NOSE.

BASED ON OTHER STATUES OF THE TIME,

THIS IS WHAT THE NOSE MAY HAVE LOOKED LIKE.

STONE FRAGMENTS FOUND BETWEEN THE PAWS ARE CLUES

THAT THE SPHINX HAD A BEARD.

TRACES OF PAINT BEHIND THE EARS

COULD MEAN THAT IT USED TO WEAR HEAVY MAKEUP

AND WHAT LOOKS LIKE HAIR

IS ACTUALLY A REGAL HEADDRESS...

FRAMING THE IMMORTAL FACE

OF THE GOD KING KHAFRE HIMSELF.

BUT ONE BIG QUESTION REMAINS UNANSWERED.

WHY DID KHAFRE PUT HIS FACE ON THE BODY OF A LION?

THE ANCIENT WORLD HAD NEVER SEEN

AN ANIMAL-HUMAN HYBRID QUITE LIKE IT BEFORE.

USUALLY STATUES IN ANCIENT EGYPT ARE

COMPRISING A HUMAN BODY WITH AN ANIMAL HEAD,

SO THEY'RE USUALLY THAT WAY ROUND,

RATHER THAN IN THE CASE OF THE SPHINX,

WHERE WE'VE GOT A LION'S BODY

WITH KHAFRE'S HUMAN HEAD ON TOP.

EGYPTOLOGIST LIDIJA McKNIGHT BELIEVES CATS HAD

SPECIAL RELIGIOUS MEANING TO THE EGYPTIANS

AND THAT PERHAPS KHAFRE PUT HIS HEAD ON A LION

TO IMPRESS HIS CAT-MAD PEOPLE.

LIDIJA LOOKS FOR EVIDENCE OF THIS CAT OBSESSION

IN TINY MUMMIES LIKE THIS,

COMMONLY UNEARTHED IN EGYPTIAN DIGS.

WE'VE BROUGHT A MUMMIFIED ANIMAL

FROM MANCHESTER MUSEUM'S COLLECTIONS,

BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IT TO BE THE MUMMY OF A CAT.

Narrator: TODAY, LIDIJA WANTS TO CONFIRM THE CONTENTS

OF THIS TIGHTLY WRAPPED PACKAGE

AND GET SOME IDEA OF HOW THE ANIMAL DIED.

SHE WANTS TO KNOW IF THE DEATH WAS NATURAL

OR IF THE EGYPTIANS WERE KILLING ANIMALS TO ORDER.

WE BROUGHT IT HERE TODAY TO USE NONINVASIVE,

RADIOGRAPHIC METHODS,

WHICH ARE USUALLY USED TO SCAN LIVING PATIENTS,

JUST TO CHECK WHAT'S GOING ON ON THE INSIDE

IN A NONDESTRUCTIVE WAY.

Narrator: FIRST, LIDIJA NEEDS TO CHECK IF IT REALLY IS A CAT

INSIDE THE ANCIENT DRESSINGS.

SHE HUNTS FOR TELL-TALE SIGNS THAT THE SKELETON IS FELINE.

USUALLY, WE IDENTIFY A CAT FROM THE SKULL AND THE TEETH,

SO THE SHAPE OF THE SCULL, THE TEETH,

AND THE LIMB BONES TO THE LEGS.

BUT WE'VE GOT WHAT APPEARS TO BE FOUR LIMBS IN THE POSITION

WE WOULD EXPECT TO FIND THEM.

Narrator: THE ANCIENT SKULL OF THIS SPECIMEN

IS BADLY DAMAGED,

BUT THE LEGS ARE INTACT

AND FOLDED UP UNDERNEATH THE BODY.

YOU CAN SEE QUITE NICELY THE PAWS HERE,

SO THIS IS ONE OF YOUR FRONT LIMBS AND THE PAW.

WE'VE GOT WHAT APPEARS TO BE A COMPLETE CAT SKELETON IN THERE.

Narrator: LIDIJA ALSO SEARCHES FOR THIN, CLEAR LINES

THAT RUN HORIZONTALLY ACROSS THE TOP OF THE LEG BONES.

THIS WILL TELL HER HOW OLD THE CAT WAS WHEN IT DIED.

THESE LINES ARE GROWTH PLATES

AND THEY'RE ONLY FOUND IN JUVENILE ANIMALS.

THE PROMINENT GROWTH PLATES ON THIS SPECIMEN

CAN MEAN ONLY ONE THING.

McKnight: SO, IT WAS AN IMMATURE KITTEN

AT THE TIME OF DEATH.

Narrator: THE FACT THAT THIS KITTEN DIED

BEFORE THE END OF ITS NATURAL LIFE

SUGGESTS IT WAS NOT A BELOVED PET.

IT WAS AN ANIMAL BRED IN CAPTIVITY FOR ONE PURPOSE --

TO BE SLAUGHTERED AND MUMMIFIED

AS AN OFFERING TO THE CAT GODS.

McKnight: RESEARCH ESTIMATES THAT AROUND 10 MILLION CATS

WOULD'VE BEEN MUMMIFIED AS VOTIVE OFFERINGS

DURING THIS 1,000-YEAR TIME PERIOD,

SO WE REALLY ARE LOOKING AT A MASSIVE SCALE INDUSTRY.

Narrator: THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE CLEARLY THOUGHT CATS WERE

AN IMPORTANT LINK TO THEIR GODS

AND BY PUTTING HIS IMAGE ON THE BODY OF A LION,

KHAFRE MIGHT HAVE FOUND MANY ADMIRERS.

BUT LIDIJA THINKS THAT THE PHARAOH'S MOTIVATION

STRETCHED FAR BEYOND MERE POPULARITY.

WE BELIEVE THAT THE PHARAOHS LIKED TO IMPLY THAT

THEY WERE ALMOST GODS ON EARTH,

THAT THEY HAD THE POWER OF A GOD,

BUT IN LIVING HUMAN FORM.

Narrator: DID KHAFRE WANT TO BE SEEN AS A GOD?

IS THAT WHY HE PUT HIS HEAD ON ONE OF THE ANIMALS

HIS SUBJECTS CONSIDERED MOST HOLY?

KHAFRE WANTED TO SHOW HIS DOMINANCE AND POWER,

OVER NOT ONLY THE PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE

IN WHICH THE STATUE STANDS,

BUT ALSO OVER THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT DURING HIS REIGN.

Narrator: TO IMPRESS HIS PEOPLE, KHAFRE ORDERED THE CONSTRUCTION

OF THE BIGGEST STATUE IN EGYPTIAN HISTORY.

BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM.

NO ANIMAL CARVING THIS BIG HAD EVER BEEN ATTEMPTED BEFORE.

TO ACHIEVE IT, MARK LEHNER THINKS THE EGYPTIAN CRAFTSMEN

MUST'VE LEARNED HOW TO EXPLOIT THE NATURAL LAYERS OF THE ROCK.

WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE LAYERS IN THE SPHINX QUARRY

WHERE THEY CUT THE BLOCK.

BUT IT ALL TELLS YOU THAT THE EGYPTIANS

WERE GOOD GEOLOGISTS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT.

THEY USED THE GEOLOGY AND THE LAYERS

TO THEIR ADVANTAGE, THAT'S FOR SURE.

Narrator: MARK'S INVESTIGATION SUGGESTS THAT THE EGYPTIANS

WOULD POUND TRENCHES INTO THE BEDROCK

TO FORM A GRID OF DEEP CHANNELS

AND EXPOSE THE LAYERS OF LIMESTONE.

THEY DROVE WOODEN WEDGES BETWEEN THE LAYERS

TO SPLIT THEM WITH EASE

AND LIFT OUT PERFECT BUILDING BLOCKS.

AS THEY EXCAVATED THE ROCKS,

THEY CARVED OUT THE ROUGH SHAPE OF THE SPHINX

AND RECYCLED THE SPOIL TO BUILD THE TEMPLES.

FINALLY, AN ARMY OF STONE MASONS USED COPPER CHISELS...

TO ADD THE DETAIL OF THE PHARAOH'S FACE

AND LION'S BODY.

Lehner: THE COMBINATION OF THE HUMAN HEAD

WITH THE LION BODY SYMBOLIZES SUPREME STRENGTH AND POWER.

AS IN MANY CULTURES, THE LION IS THE SYMBOL,

IS THE KING OF THE BEASTS.

AND YET, THE BEAST IS CONTROLLED BY HUMAN INTELLIGENCE,

INDEED, THE INTELLIGENCE OF PHARAOH HIMSELF.

Narrator: BUT WAS THE SPHINX SIMPLY DESIGNED

TO INSPIRE RELIGIOUS AWE IN THE KING'S SUBJECTS

OR DID IT HAVE AN EVEN MORE ELABORATE PURPOSE?

SOME HISTORIANS NOW BELIEVE THE SPHINX MAY HAVE BEEN PART

OF A SUPERNATURAL MACHINE,

A MACHINE TO RESURRECT THE DEAD.

Narrator: THE GREAT SPHINX --

AN EGYPTIAN CARVING MORE THAN 4,000 YEARS OLD.

IT'S POSSIBLE THIS HUGE STONE ANIMAL

WAS BUILT TO IMPRESS

THE PHARAOH'S CAT-OBSESSED PEOPLE.

BUT EGYPTOLOGIST MARK LEHNER SUSPECTS THAT THE SPHINX

WAS ALSO PART OF SOMETHING MORE MYSTERIOUS --

THE GROWTH OF A STRANGE NEW CULT.

HE SEARCHES FOR EVIDENCE OF THIS

IN THE TEMPLE AT THE FRONT OF THE SPHINX.

THE SPHINX TEMPLE IS A BIT OF A MYSTERY,

BECAUSE IT WAS STRIPPED OF ALL ITS OUTER CLADDING,

YOU KNOW, THE CASING OF THE WALLS, THE PILLARS,

EVERYTHING THAT WOULD'VE HAD AN INSCRIPTION,

THAT MIGHT HAVE SAID SOMETHING DIRECTLY

ABOUT WHAT THE TEMPLE WAS FOR.

Narrator: BUT DESPITE BEING PILFERED AND VANDALIZED,

THERE ARE JUST ENOUGH CLUES

TO SHOW HOW THIS TEMPLE COULD'VE LOOKED

4,500 YEARS AGO.

ON THE OUTSIDE,

A FACADE OF EXQUISITE GRANITE

SHIPPED IN FROM ASWAN.

IN THE HALLWAYS STOOD 24 MASSIVE PILLARS

TO MARK THE HOURS OF THE EGYPTIAN DAY.

AT THE HEART OF THE TEMPLE WERE TWO SANCTUARIES

ALIGNED TO THE EAST AND WEST

AND A GLEAMING COURTYARD OF ALABASTER TILES

SURROUNDED BY 10 MYSTERIOUS STATUES.

WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THIS LOST TEMPLE?

THE SPHINX TEMPLE IS OFFLINE WITH THE SPHINX,

SHIFTED SLIGHTLY TO THE LEFT.

MARK BELIEVES THAT THIS APPARENT MISTAKE

WAS ACTUALLY DELIBERATE.

COULD IT BE THE KEY TO DECODING THE SECRETS

OF THIS STRANGE RUIN?

THE CURIOUS THING IS THAT THE AXIS OF THE TEMPLE

DOES NOT AIM DIRECTLY AT THE SPHINX.

IT'S AS THOUGH THE SPHINX IS SHOVED TO THE NORTH

AND THE AXIS OF THE TEMPLE POINTS PAST IT,

UP THE WESTERN HORIZON.

Narrator: ONE OTHER FEATURE OF THE TEMPLE LAYOUT

MIGHT BE A CLUE TO WHAT THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

WERE AIMING THE AXIS TOWARDS.

Lehner: THESE TWO SANCTUARIES,

WHICH ARE IN THE FORM OF RECESSED BAYS

AND SMALL NICHES, DEFINE THE TEMPLE AXIS.

IT'S VERY COMPELLING TO THINK THAT

THAT'S FOR THE RISING SUN ON THE EAST

AND THE SETTING SUN ON THE WEST.

Narrator: MARK BELIEVES THE EGYPTIAN MASTER BUILDERS

WOULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS ACCIDENTALLY.

HE THINKS THEY DELIBERATELY POINTED THE TEMPLE AXIS

AT THE SPOT ON THE HORIZON

WHERE THE SUN WOULD SET AT A SPECIAL TIME OF YEAR.

THE SPHINX TEMPLE IS ORIENTED ON THIS AXIS

SO THAT IT IS ALIGNED TO THE SETTING OF THE SUN

AND THE RISING OF THE SUN AT THE EQUINOXES.

Narrator: AS THE SUN SET ON THE EQUINOX,

IT DROPPED DIRECTLY BEHIND THE SHOULDER OF THE SPHINX

AND THE SOUTH SIDE OF KHAFRE'S PYRAMID.

THE SHAPES OF KHAFRE'S PYRAMID AND HIS SPHINX

WOULD MERGE TO BECOME ONE PERFECT SILHOUETTE.

Lehner: KHAFRE AND HIS BUILDERS WERE

TRYING TO HARNESS THE POWER OF THE SUN.

AND AFTER KHAFRE DIED, HE HOPED THAT THIS ALIGNMENT

WOULD BE A KIND OF RESURRECTION MACHINE.

HE WAS, IN EFFECT, HITCHING HIMSELF

TO THE ETERNAL CYCLE OF THE SUN,

SO THAT HE, TOO, WOULD RISE IN THE AFTERLIFE.

Narrator: MARK BELIEVES THE TEMPLE

WAS PART OF A NEW CULT IN EGYPT

THAT WORSHIPPED THE SUN AS A CENTRAL DEITY.

THIS IDEOLOGY WAS SET TO DOMINATE EGYPTIAN RELIGION

FOR THE NEXT 2,000 YEARS.

MARK ALSO BELIEVES THAT

THE PRECISE POSITIONING OF THE SPHINX TEMPLE

ALLOWED IT TO HARNESS THE POWER

OF ANOTHER DIFFERENT SOLAR EVENT.

IF HE'S CORRECT,

ON THE YEAR'S LONGEST DAY,

THE SUMMER SOLSTICE,

AN OBSERVER AT THE TEMPLE LOCATION

WOULD HAVE WITNESSED ANOTHER AMAZING VISUAL EFFECT.

SETTING DIRECTLY BETWEEN THE TWO GREAT PYRAMIDS,

THE SUN FORMED AN ANCIENT HIEROGLYPH

REPRESENTING THE ETERNAL CYCLE OF REBIRTH.

WITH THIS MONUMENTAL ARCHITECTURE,

THEY WERE TRYING TO HITCH THEMSELVES

TO THE POWER OF THE SUN.

WHY?

BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED THE KING

WAS LITERALLY THE SON OF THE SUN.

AND HE NEEDED THE POWER OF THE SUN FOR EFFECTIVE RULE

OVER ALL OF EGYPT

AND ALL ITS INHABITANTS.

Narrator: KHAFRE CHANGED THE FACE OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY.

IN BUILDING THE SPHINX AND THE TEMPLES AT ITS FEET,

HE HELPED ADVANCE AN ERA OF SUN WORSHIP IN EGYPT

THAT WOULD LAST FOR THE NEXT TWO MILLENNIA.

IT IS INCREDIBLE TO THINK HOW THE FOURTH DYNASTY EGYPTIANS

ALIGNED THESE MASSIVE MONUMENTS --

THE TEMPLES, THE SPHINX,

AND THE GIGANTIC PYRAMIDS OF THEIR TIME.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH INVESTIGATORS HAVE SOLVED

THE MYSTERY OF THE TEMPLES,

SOME OTHER FEATURES OF THE SPHINX COMPLEX

ARE HARDER TO EXPLAIN.

AT THE FRONT OF THE TEMPLES ARE TWO STONE PATHWAYS

THAT LOOK JUST LIKE A MODERN DOCKSIDE SLIPWAY.

WHAT ARE THESE WATERSIDE FEATURES

DOING HERE, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT?

Narrator: THE GREAT SPHINX AND ITS TEMPLES --

PART OF AN EGYPTIAN BURIAL COMPLEX

COVERING 500 ACRES.

THIS ANCIENT MULTIPLEX SLOPES GENTLY DOWNHILL

TOWARDS THE SPHINX,

WHERE IT ABRUPTLY ENDS

WITH TWO MYSTERIOUS STONE PATHWAYS.

ANCIENT RAMPS SIMILAR TO THESE

HAVE BEEN FOUND AT THE EDGE OF OLD EGYPTIAN HARBORS,

BUT WHAT ARE THESE RAMPS DOING FIVE MILES AWAY

FROM THE NEAREST WATER?

EGYPTOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT CLUES TO THIS MYSTERY

LIE HIDDEN IN AN UNUSUAL LAYER OF MUD

DEEP BELOW THE PATHWAYS.

LIFTING THESE STRANGE STONE STRUCTURES

OUT OF THE SAND

REVEALS THAT THEY STRETCH

100 FEET FROM THE TEMPLE.

THEY SLOPE DOWNHILL,

HUGGING THE TERRAIN PRECISELY.

TOWARDS THE END, THE GROUND THEY SIT IN CHANGES.

HIDDEN IN THE SAND IS A MYSTERIOUS LAYER

OF BLACK SLUDGE

NOT PRESENT ANYWHERE ELSE AROUND THE TEMPLES.

THIS IS A CLUE THAT THESE RAMPS

ONCE SERVED A PURPOSE

WE CAN NO LONGER SEE TODAY.

EGYPTOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT THE DARK LAYER OF MUD

FOUND UNDER THE SPHINX SITE COULD BE EVIDENCE

THAT THESE RAMPS WERE ONCE PART OF A MAN-MADE HARBOR

FED BY THE RIVER NILE

LESS THAN TWO MILES TO THE EAST.

SO WE HAVE THESE RAMPS AND THE QUESTION IS,

WHAT DO THEY LEAD TO?

WHERE ARE THEY GOING?

WELL, ONE OF THE MOST REASONABLE EXPLANATIONS

IS THEY LEAD DOWN, PROBABLY INTO MAYBE A HARBOR.

Narrator: TODAY, RICHARD REDDING IS ON THE MODERN-DAY RIVER NILE.

HE WANTS TO LOOK FOR THE SAME MUD

THAT ENDED UP BY THE SPHINX.

HE BELIEVES THIS MUD IS CARRIED BY THE WATER

WHEN IT'S FLOWING...

BUT THEN SINKS TO THE BOTTOM WHEN IT'S CALM.

Redding: WHAT WE'RE GOING TO TRY AND DO HERE

IS LOOK OUT ON THE CALM AREAS AROUND THE NILE,

FIND SOME SILT IN THESE CALM AREAS

WHERE IT FALLS OUT NATURALLY

AND THAT WOULD BE VERY SIMILAR TO THE PROCESS

OF FORMING A SILT LAYER

ON THE BOTTOM OF THIS HARBOR.

Narrator: RICHARD AIMS HIS BOAT

TOWARDS A CALM SECTION OF THE NILE

TO PUT THIS THEORY TO THE TEST.

IF WE HEAD OVER TO THE SHALLOWS OVER HERE,

WE CAN TAKE SOME SAMPLES

OF THE SILT THAT LIE IN THE BOTTOM.

THERE'S NOT MUCH WATER MOVEMENT OVER HERE.

IT'S FAIRLY CALM.

Narrator: HE USES A HAND-OPERATED DRILLING TOOL

CALLED AN AUGER,

TO LIFT OUT SAMPLES OF MUD FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE RIVER.

Redding: THIS IS ALMOST EXACTLY WHAT I'D EXPECT

IN A GOOD NILE SILT IN A CALM AREA.

SEE, THAT'LL -- THAT'LL -- RUBS ON MY FINGER HERE.

Narrator: THIS TYPE OF SILT IS UNIQUE TO THE NILE,

BECAUSE OF THE RIVER'S SOURCE

MILES UPSTREAM IN CENTRAL AFRICA.

Redding: THE SILT CAME DOWN FROM THE ETHIOPIAN HIGHLANDS.

AND THAT SILT WAS BLACK.

IT WAS RICH IN MINERALS

THAT ARE DARK, VOLCANIC MINERALS,

SO IT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD EXPECT.

Narrator: RICHARD BELIEVES

THE NILE MUD AT THE BASE OF THE SPHINX

IS PROOF THAT THE EGYPTIANS

CONSTRUCTED A SHELTERED HARBOR HERE.

IT GETS INTO THAT HARBOR, WHICH IS KIND OF A CUL-DE-SAC,

YOU KNOW, A BAG AT THE END.

AND THE WATER HITS THERE, RISES UP,

AND THEN STOPS, AND IT CALMS DOWN.

AND AS IT CALMS,

ALL THAT SILT THAT IT WAS CARRYING,

ALL THAT BLACK SILT,

ALL THAT NILE SILT WILL JUST FALL TO THE BOTTOM

AND CREATE A COATING ON THE BOTTOM OF THE HARBOR.

Narrator: RICHARD IS CONVINCED,

BUT WHY DID THE EGYPTIANS GO TO ALL THIS TROUBLE

AND DIG SUCH A HUGE ARTIFICIAL HARBOR?

ONE THEORY IS THAT THE SPHINX'S RAMPS

WERE JUST ONE PART OF A HUGE WATERFRONT COMPLEX,

SUPPLYING GOODS AND MATERIAL

FOR THE WHOLE GIZA CONSTRUCTION SITE.

BOATS BROUGHT IN GRANITE BLOCKS TO DECORATE THE PYRAMIDS,

TIMBER FOR BUILDING,

AND LIVE CATTLE TO FEED THE ARMY OF LABORERS

WHO LIVED ON THE PLATEAU.

WHEN PHARAOH KHAFRE DIED,

THE WOODEN COFFIN HOLDING HIS DEAD BODY

WOULD CROSS THESE WATERS TO BEGIN HIS BURIAL CEREMONY

AND THE EGYPTIANS BELIEVED THIS DIVINE PORT

ALLOWED THE GODS, ON THEIR CELESTIAL BARGES,

TO VISIT THE SACRED TEMPLES OF THE DECEASED PHARAOHS.

YOU COULD NOT HAVE BUILT THE PYRAMIDS

WITHOUT WATER ACCESS.

YOU COULD NOT HAVE MOVED THESE LARGE STONES

FROM WAYS ACROSS THE NILE, OVER TO THE PYRAMIDS,

FROM ASWAN, THE RED GRANITE,

ALL THE WAY UP HERE.

ALL THESE MATERIALS HAD TO HAVE BEEN MOVED BY WATER.

THEY COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MOVED BY LAND.

IT WAS JUST CRITICAL THAT YOU HAD THIS WATER TRANSPORT,

THIS WATER SYSTEM,

THIS WATER INFRASTRUCTURE TO BUILD THE PYRAMIDS.

Narrator: THIS STONE GUARDIAN

ONCE STARED OUT OVER GIZA'S BUSTLING HARBOR.

YET TODAY, KHAFRE'S FACE HAS ALL BUT CRUMBLED TO THE FLOOR.

THIS COULD BE NATURAL LEVELS OF EROSION,

BUT BIZARRELY, THE SPHINX APPEARS

TO BE AGING FASTER

THAN THE PYRAMIDS THAT SURROUND IT.

WHY?

AND HOW LONG DO HISTORIANS HAVE

BEFORE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO STUDY?

Narrator: THE SPHINX WATCHES OVER

THE MODERN EGYPTIAN LANDSCAPE.

IT HAS WITNESSED THE BIRTH OF A MODERN AFRICAN COUNTRY,

SEEN CAIRO EXPAND ALL AROUND IT,

AND BECOME ONE OF THE WORLD'S

MOST VISITED TOURIST ATTRACTIONS.

FOR MOST OF ITS LIFE,

THIS ANCIENT BEAST HAS BEEN UNDER REPAIR.

THE SPHINX IS BEING EATEN AWAY BY A MYSTERIOUS FORM

OF ACCELERATED EROSION

THAT DOESN'T SEEM TO AFFECT THE NEARBY PYRAMIDS.

THE TILES THAT PROTECT THE LOWER BODY

HAVE BEEN ADDED, REPAIRED,

AND REPLACED FOR THE LAST 3,000 YEARS.

FROM THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS, THROUGH THE ROMANS,

RIGHT UP TO MODERN TIMES.

IN THE 1920s,

FRENCH ENGINEERS REPAIRED

A HUGE CRACK IN THE BODY...

...PLUGGED UP A HOLE IN ITS SCALP...

...AND FEARING THAT THE SPHINX MIGHT LOSE ITS HEAD,

THEY PLASTERED HUGE CEMENT BUTTRESSES AROUND THE NECK.

SAVING THE SPHINX IS A BATTLE WITH TIME

THAT CONTINUES TO THIS VERY DAY.

WHY IS THE SPHINX ERODING AWAY SO QUICKLY,

WHILE THE NEARBY PYRAMIDS SIT UNAFFECTED?

MARK AND RICHARD WANT TO FIND OUT.

Lehner: IT'S NOT JUST THE RECENT TIME,

IT'S BEEN HERE FOR 4,500 YEARS, SO...

Narrator: THEY CANNOT INSPECT THE BODY OF THE MONUMENT,

BECAUSE MOST OF IT IS NOW COVERED

IN A PROTECTIVE LAYER OF LIMESTONE CLAY

AND NATURAL STONE TILES.

BUT ON THE QUARRY WALL THAT SURROUNDS THE SPHINX,

THEY FIND EVIDENCE OF A UNIQUE

TYPE OF EROSION THAT ATTACKS LIMESTONE.

WHAT YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT THIS PROCESS

AFFECTING THE QUARRY WALL

IS EXACTLY THE PROCESS

THAT IS STILL GOING ON IN THE LION BODY OF THE SPHINX.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE FLAKES ALL AROUND HERE

AND, BASICALLY, WHAT THIS IS,

IS DISINTEGRATED BEDROCK.

YOU HAVE FLAKES COMING OFF.

YOU GOT SOME CHUNKS COMING OFF HERE.

YEAH.

Narrator: GEOLOGY EXPERT RICHARD

THINKS THAT WATER CARRIES SALT

TO THE SURFACE OF THE ROCK,

WHICH THEN HAS A DEVASTATING EFFECT.

THE SALTS GET INTO EVERY PORE, EVERY CRACK,

WHERE IT CRYSTALLIZES AND THE EXPANDING CRYSTALS

HAVE A GREAT FORCE TO THEM, AND IT ACTUALLY BREAKS THE ROCK

AND FORCES PIECES TO COME OFF.

BUT IN A COUNTRY WHERE IT OFTEN DOESN'T RAIN

FOR MONTHS AT A TIME,

WHERE IS THIS WATER COMING FROM?

AND WHY IS IT NOT AFFECTING THE GREAT PYRAMIDS

IN THE SAME WAY?

CARVING THE SPHINX OUT OF THE GROUND

MEANS IT SITS 130 FEET LOWER

THAN THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMIDS.

ITS BASE IS CLOSE TO A LAYER OF UNDERGROUND WATER

THAT PUSHES MOISTURE UPWARDS.

THE POROUS LIMESTONE IN THE SPHINX BODY

SUCKS UP THIS LIQUID, LIKE A SPONGE,

WHICH THEN TURNS THE SPHINX'S SKIN TO DUST.

UNLIKE THE PYRAMIDS,

THE SPHINX IS ALSO

DIRECTLY CONNECTED

TO THE ROCK BELOW.

Lehner: THE SPHINX IS NOT A STATUE SITTING SEPARATE

OR EVEN A TEMPLE BUILT OUT OF SEPARATE BLOCKS,

BUT THE SPHINX IS LITERALLY PART OF THE ENVIRONMENT,

IT'S PART OF THE LIVING ROCK.

ALL THE NATURAL PROCESSES THAT AFFECT THIS WALL HERE

ARE AFFECTING THE SPHINX STATUE ITSELF.

Narrator: CARVING THE SPHINX DIRECTLY OUT

OF THE LIMESTONE BEDROCK

MADE THIS GIANT STATUE POSSIBLE,

BUT MAY ALSO HAVE BEEN ITS UNDOING.

ONE SOLUTION TO STEM THE RISING DAM

WOULD BE TO CUT THE SPHINX AWAY FROM THE BEDROCK.

HOWEVER, THE MONUMENT WEIGHS THOUSANDS OF TONS

AND COULD BE TOO FRAGILE FOR THIS SCHEME TO SUCCEED.

SO TODAY, ENGINEERS ARE APPLYING

A LAYER OF SPECIAL LIMESTONE CLAY

CALLED CONSOLIDANT,

TO TRY AND SLOW DOWN THE EROSION.

EVEN THESE DAYS,

THEY ARE HERE ON A REGULAR BASIS

TO TRY TO ARREST THIS PROCESS

AND SAVE THE FORM OF THE SPHINX.

Narrator: FOR CONSERVATORS, IT IS A RACE AGAINST TIME

TO PROTECT THE SPHINX

BEFORE ITS ANCIENT STONE IS LOST TO THE DESERT.

THE SPHINX AND ITS TEMPLES WERE MOST LIKELY DESIGNED

TO KEEP THE GREAT PHARAOH'S MEMORY ALIVE

THROUGH SUN-POWERED RELIGIOUS RITUALS,

BUT THERE ARE PARTS OF THE COMPLEX

THAT LOOK INCOMPLETE.

COMPELLING NEW EVIDENCE

SUGGESTS KHAFRE'S GREAT RESURRECTION MACHINE...

MAY NEVER HAVE BEEN SWITCHED ON.

Narrator: THE GREAT SPHINX AND ITS TEMPLES

ARE SLOWLY GIVING UP THEIR SECRETS.

THE EGYPTIANS BUILT THESE MONUMENTAL STRUCTURES

FOR THE GREAT PHARAOH KHAFRE...

...DESIGNED TO ENSURE HE WAS WORSHIPPED

AFTER HIS DEATH.

BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM.

SOME PARTS OF THE COMPLEX AROUND THE SPHINX

APPEAR INCOMPLETE.

Lehner: THIS LEDGE TELLS ME

THEY NEVER REALLY FINISHED THE JOB,

OF THE SPHINX AND THE SPHINX TEMPLE.

Narrator: EGYPTOLOGIST MARK LEHNER SUSPECTS

THE MEN CUTTING THIS WALL

ABANDONED THEIR WORK.

SEEN FROM THE AIR,

THE WALL ON THE LEFT OF THE SPHINX

IS A STRAIGHT EDGE,

BUT THE WALL TO THE RIGHT

HAS A SUSPICIOUS PROTRUDING LEDGE.

Lehner: SUDDENLY, WE HAVE THIS HUGE SHELF

OF BEDROCK STICKING OUT.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE THEY STOPPED.

AND THIS SUGGESTS TO ME

THAT THEY NEVER REALLY FINISHED

CUTTING THE SPHINX DITCH.

Narrator: MARK AND FELLOW INVESTIGATOR RICHARD

HUNT FOR EVIDENCE THAT THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

HAD STARTED TO CUT THIS PART OF THE WALL AWAY.

Lehner: PROBABLY THIS PATCH WAS ONE PERSON'S ALLOTMENT

AND PROBABLY HE WAS SQUATTED HERE.

MM-HMM.

AND HE'S POUNDING WITH A HAMMERSTONE,

POSSIBLY A CHISEL, NOW AND THEN.

AS MARK AND RICHARD CLEAN THE AREA,

THEY FIND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR --

EVIDENCE THAT THIS ROCKFACE WAS STILL BEING WORKED ON

WHEN IT WAS ABANDONED.

THESE THREE CHANNELS CUT INTO THE ROCK

COULD'VE BEEN CHISELED OUT BY LABORERS --

PART OF A TECHNIQUE

FOR REMOVING THE STONE MOST EFFICIENTLY.

Lehner: YOU CAN SEE THAT HE CUT THESE CHANNELS,

PROBABLY WITH A PICK,

LEAVING THE GREAT HUMPS

THAT HE WOULD THEN WASTE AWAY WITH A HEAVY HAMMERSTONE.

THERE MUST'VE BEEN THREE DOZEN SUCH WORKERS,

EACH WITH THEIR OWN PATCH,

CLINK-A-CHENK, CLINK-A-CHENK, WITH THEIR PICKS

AND THEN BLASTING THE HUMPS AWAY

WITH THEIR HAMMERSTONES

TO BRING THE LEDGE DOWN

TO THE LEVEL OF THE SPHINX'S FLOOR.

IT MUST'VE BEEN QUITE A SCENE.

Narrator: BUT MARK IS CONVINCED THESE EGYPTIAN WORKMEN

SUDDENLY WALKED OFF THE JOB AND LEFT.

WHY?

Lehner: AND OUR BEST GUESS, THAT THE REASON THEY STOPPED,

IS THAT KHAFRE DIED

AND A NEW KING CAME TO THE THRONE

AND THEY HAD TO START IMMEDIATELY

ON HIS PYRAMID COMPLEX.

THE RESURRECTION MACHINE THAT KHAFRE PLANNED

WITH THE SPHINX AND SPHINX TEMPLE

WAS NEVER FINISHED.

Narrator: CONSTRUCTION AT GIZA CARRIED ON

FOR ABOUT ANOTHER 350 YEARS,

BUT THEN, CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP.

INVESTIGATORS NOW BELIEVE THAT A CATACLYSMIC NATURAL EVENT

MADE THE EGYPTIANS ABANDON GIZA.

THE NILE WAS CHANGING COURSE.

AS THE FERTILE WATERS OF THE NILE DRIFTED EAST,

THE GIZA PLATEAU DRIED UP,

AND THE SPHINX BECAME LOST TO THE SANDS OF TIME.

WITHOUT ANYONE ON GUARD,

THIS SACRED SITE WAS LEFT FOR THIEVES TO STRIP IT BARE,

THE VALUABLE STONE AND STATUES LOST FOREVER.

COVERED OVER BY DESERT SANDS,

THE SPHINX COULD'VE BEEN GONE FOR GOOD.

BUT MARK BELIEVES THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT MUCH LATER,

IT WAS REDISCOVERED AND REPURPOSED

BY FUTURE GENERATIONS OF EGYPTIAN PHARAOHS.

HE FINDS THIS EVIDENCE IN A STRANGE PANEL

CALLED A STELE,

WHICH WAS WRITTEN 1,000 YEARS AFTER KHAFRE DEATH

BY PHARAOH THUTMOSE IV.

IT'S ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT IT'S THUTMOSE.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THUTMOSE.

HIS NAME IS ALL OVER THE TOP OF THE STELE.

Narrator: MARK DECIPHERS THE HIEROGLYPHS

TO REVEAL THE STORY OF THUTMOSE,

A ROYAL PRINCE WHO CAME TO GIZA

ON A HUNTING TRIP FROM THE CAPITAL MEMPHIS.

AND HE SAYS, HE SLEPT IN THE SHADOW OF THE SPHINX'S HEAD.

THE SPHINX CAME TO HIM IN A DREAM.

SAYS, "THUTMOSE, MY SON,

LOOK HOW THE SAND HAS ENGULFED MY BODY.

CLEAR THE SAND AWAY FROM ME, AND I WILL MAKE YOU THE KING

OF UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT."

Narrator: IT SEEMS THAT THE SPHINX

MADE GOOD ON ITS PROMISE.

THUTMOSE BECAME KING OF EGYPT

DESPITE NOT BEING DIRECTLY IN LINE TO THE THRONE.

Lehner: THUTMOSE PUT UP THIS STELE

IN THE FIRST YEAR OF HIS REIGN.

A COUPLE OTHER KINGS CAME AND PUT UP STELE

IN THE FIRST YEARS OF THEIR REIGNS.

THE SPHINX BECAME LIKE -- IN A WAY, LIKE THE VATICAN,

THE PLACE OF ORDINATION,

THE PLACE WHERE THIS ANCIENT IMAGE OF THE SUN GOD,

THE PROGENITOR OF ALL KINGS,

BESTOWED KINGSHIP ON THOSE

WHO WERE NEWLY ASCENDED TO THE THRONE.

BUILT TO IDOLIZE A PHARAOH,

THE SYMBOL OF A KING

THAT INSPIRED A NEW BREED OF STATUE.

THAT ICONIC IMAGE, THE COMBINATION

OF THE PHARAOH'S HEAD AND THE LION BODY,

THE SPHINX, WAS REPLICATED

PROBABLY HUNDRED OF TIMES

THROUGH THE LATER DYNASTIES OF EGYPT.

THE LEGACY OF THE SPHINX HAS GONE WAY BEYOND

WHAT KHAFRE COULD'VE IMAGINED.

Narrator: THE SPHINX HAS SURVIVED

FOR MORE THAN FOUR MILLENNIA,

GUARDING THE ANCIENT PYRAMIDS OF GIZA.

NOTHING, NO PIECE OF ART,

NO SCULPTURE,

NO STATUE ON THIS SCALE HAD EXISTED BEFORE

AND, IN FACT, NO STATUE,

ON THIS SCALE,

WOULD EXIST AGAIN FOR ANOTHER MILLENNIUM.

Narrator: THE GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA --

ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC AND MYSTERIOUS

STRUCTURES IN THE WORLD.

AS INVESTIGATORS WORK ON THIS GIANT FELINE,

THEY ARE SLOWLY STARTING TO UNEARTH ITS SECRETS.

FROM ITS MYSTIFYING, DISFIGURED FACE,

TO ITS RUINED TEMPLES,

THEY ARE GRADUALLY UNDERSTANDING MORE

ABOUT THIS GREAT STRUCTURE

AND THE KING WHO BUILT IT.

*