Chinese archaeologists have discovered a thousand-year-old Sphinx statuette and other ancient relics. The find was made in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwestern China.
Excavations were carried out at the construction site of urban hydraulic structures. Earlier, archaeologists discovered 29 burials there. In total, more than 150 relics were found in the graves, among which were items made of bronze, iron, jade.
White marble figurines were found in one of the graves. The grave belonged to the scientist Liu Yong and his wife, who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). Among the figures of warriors and horses there was also a sphinx - a lion with a human face.
#archeology: Rare marble sphinx unearthed in NW China https://t.co/hZ61H0WAXe pic.twitter.com/JGXW89ot9I
- ArchaeoNewsNet (@ArchaeoNewsNet) December 16, 2015
The Sphinx most of all interested scientists in the fact that this image is not typical for Chinese culture. Scientists believe the carvings were brought to Ningxia province from elsewhere.
The connection between the ancient East and the West
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According to archaeologists, the Chinese Sphinx has become further evidence of the ancient ties between East and West. The head of the archaeological expedition Fan Jun noted that the figurines were made by a skilled carver at a very high level. However, they have distinct Western features that are extremely rare in Chinese burials of that era, the archaeologist said.
The image of the sphinx is found in various ancient cultures. The most famous of these is the Egyptian Sphinx that guards the pyramids of Giza. The oldest of those found is considered to be the sphinx found in the Göbekli Tepe temple complex in Turkey. Its age is 10 thousand years. Despite the wide distribution of this image in Europe and Asia, it remains a rarity in China.
Egyptian sphinx
Photo: pixabay.com/CC0 Public Domain
However, scientists were not very surprised to find the sphinx in the Ningxia province, because at the beginning of the 3rd century AD, during the Han dynasty, a section of the Silk Road passed here. The Silk Road connected China with Western countries. He was needed not only for trade, but also helped cultural exchange.
Scientists are currently looking for material evidence in Ningxia of the connection between the ancient great cultures. Scientists believe that the Sphinx will not be the only sensation at the excavation site, where East and West met in ancient times.