Egypt's archaeological wealth seems to be endless. This time, scientists discovered a 3,000-year-old stone carving workshop, which contains several unfinished sculptures. Among them, the ram-headed sphinx carved from sandstone stands out. Scientists believe that this workshop dates back to the time of the 18th dynasty, i.e. during the reign of Amenhotep III, the grandfather of the famous Tutankhamun.
An unusual statue of a sphinx 3.5 meters high was found in Gebel el-Silsil, and archaeologists believe that it was ordered by Pharaoh Amenhotep III, but for some reason it was forgotten for more than three millennia.
The Sphinx was found during excavations under a couple of meters of debris, from under which only the head of the sculpture was initially visible. Upon examination, it turned out that the statue was carved in the style of the ram-headed sphinxes installed in front of the famous Khonsu temple in the huge Karnak complex. Next to it, archaeologists have also unearthed hundreds of stone fragments with hieroglyphs and exquisite carvings in the form of a rolled cobra.
Karnak Temple Complex, Luxor, Egypt.
The Gebel el Silsil site, which lies on the banks of the Nile, was once a quarry, but recent excavations have shown that quarry workers and their families also lived there.
The Egypt Today newspaper recently reported that archaeologists are now working to raise the mysterious statue. The problem is that because of its location, the sphinx cannot be easily reached to the surface. “During the excavation of the sphinx next to its belly, the team found a smaller fragment of another sphinx, possibly carved by an apprentice,” archaeologists explain on their blog. "Both sculptures were rough and ready for transport, but they were probably left in Gebel el Silsila as the large sculpture was broken." A stone "ureus" or spiral cobra was found next to the smaller piece. Experts point out that this small sculpture was supposed to later crown the head of a larger sphinx.
Photo from the excavation site.
So, finding the mysterious statue in the quarry could mean it was a canceled order. Facts indicate that the Sphinx was carved at the end of the reign of Pharaoh's grandfather Tutankhamun. After the death of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, the sculptures that he ordered during his lifetime could well have been abandoned.
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Photo from the excavation site.
In addition to the broken carved cobra, which was a symbol of royal power, a “little sphinx” was buried next to a large statue for thousands of years, which, as scientists assume, a student could carve for practice. Around both statues, there are tiny iron shavings from chisels and very fine sandstone chips left by artisans who worked 3370 years ago. Both sphinxes were completely covered with debris from the quarry, which continued to work during the Roman era.
Photo from the excavation site.
The Gebel el Silsila excavation is a joint Swedish-Egyptian project led by Dr. Maria Nilsson and John Ward of Lund University of Sweden. Scientists work under the leadership of the Supreme Council for Antiquities of Egypt, as well as the Aswan and Nubian inspections.
Photo from the excavation site.
Photo from the excavation site.
The massive sphinx would have been carved from a 10-ton block of sandstone, Ward said. Scientists point out that there is no obvious reason why the sphinx was abandoned in the quarry. Of course, it has a thin crack along the front, but the damage was unlikely to be severe enough to destroy such a large statue. Therefore, it has been suggested that the reason was that when Amenhotep III died and his son took the throne, all the projects of the old pharaoh were frozen. What happened to the sphinx in reality, hardly anyone will already know.