The age of the Sphinx has been a controversial issue in Egyptology for the past ten years or so. Nobody is sure exactly who built the Sphinx nor are they exactly sure when it was built. Of course Egyptologists say they have a certain time frame it must have been built in, but what exactly do they have to back that up? I believe the Sphinx has to be older than is accepted by Egyptologists, though in this paper I intend to show both viewpoints and also the results this would have on the history of Egypt. .
First I would like to examine the recorded history of the Sphinx. There may be evidence to show that there have been some human caused clues to the age of the Sphinx that could very well be misleading. Almost any Egyptologist will tell you that the Sphinx could not possibly be older than the Old Kingdom, though where they get that certainty I am unsure of. The quality of excavations of any site can determine the contamination on site by excavators and workers. The excavations of the Sphinx occurred so long ago that any records of them are scarce and incomplete. During Napoleon's military advances he conquered the area of Egypt. Though he did not remain in power long, his scholars and workers were able to gain enough information to make Egypt a worldwide fascination. Though Napoleon's scholars were never able to do the excavations necessary to gain much knowledge from the Sphinx, later scholars soon appeared. In 1817, Giovanni Caviglia worked for a man by the name of Henry Salt. Henry Salt was a collector of things ancient and funded the dig, this being how many digs were funded during these times. Caviglia dug a trench, which exposed one of the northern shoulders of the Sphinx, as well as digging far enough to reach the monuments base level. Excavations were difficult for anybody to run because the surrounding sands threatened to fill in the test pits and to devour its workers along with it.
