CAIRO: The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) on Tuesday announced that a routine excavation of the Great Sphinx complex in Giza revealed that there were ancient walls around the stone structure to protect itself from sand and erosion. According to SCA Secretary General Zahi Hawass, who is in charge of the excavation, the walls were built to protect from blowing sand. Thousands of years after it was erected, archaeologists re-discovered the monument after digging through sand that had covered most of the structure. Today, it is guarded by modern fencing near the Great Pyramids of Giza. During the routine digging, SCA researchers found two segments of mud wall on the Giza Plateau, where the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx stand. Both walls stand just under 3 feet. One runs north-south and is 282 feet long, while the other runs east-west and is 151 feet long. The walls are part of a larger enclosure previously found north of the Sphinx, according to Hawass. As told in ancient Egyptian texts, King Thutmose IV once went on a hunting trip near the Sphinx. After the trip, he dreamed that the Sphinx wanted him to clear the sand surrounding its body. According to Thutmose, the Sphinx promised that if he restored the statue, he'd become king of Egypt. BM
