Egyptian Sphinx Discovered in Northern Israel

Archaeologists discovered a sphinx which bears a dedication to the Egyptian ruler Mycerinus, who ruled circa 2500 BCE & built one of the 3 Pyramids at Giza.

By JTA

 

Archaeologists in northern Israel discovered an Egyptian sphinx thought to date back at least three millennia.

Sphinx, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY - Photo courtesy to Wikimedia Commons

Sphinx, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY – Photo courtesy to Wikimedia Commons

The sphinx was unearthed Tuesday, according to the French news agency AFP, and bears a dedication to the Egyptian ruler Mycerinus, who ruled circa 2500 BCE and built one of the three Pyramids at Giza. Researchers estimate that the sphinx arrived at its location in the town of Tel Hazor in around 1500 BCE as a gift from a later ruler.

“It’s possible the statue was sent by the Egyptian ruler to the king of Hazor, the most important ruler in this region,”Amnon Ben-Tor, the Hebrew University professor managing the dig, told AFP.

DISCOVERED: The broken granite sphinx statue, including the paws and some of the mythical creature’s forearms – Photo: Gil Eliyahu/JINI

Archaeologists have found the forearms and paws of the sphinx and hope to find more pieces in the coming days.

 

View original JTA publication at: http://www.jta.org/2013/07/10/life-religion/archaeologists-discover-sphinx-in-israelarch