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The Great Sphinx of Giza. Claims of a second sphinx are causing a stir in Egyptological circles. Source: Anton / Adobe Stock

That Old “Second Sphinx” Chestnut Is Back – Is There or Is There Not A Hidden Sphinx?

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A tourism official in Egypt has been ridiculed by his peers after claiming a second giant statue of the famous Sphinx awaits discovery. This supposed second sphinx is causing quite a stir amongst Egyptologists who argue that it is all just a hoax.

Putting the Second Sphinx Claims in Context

We will reverse into this story after I tell you a tale about UFOs. Perhaps nothing antagonizes career debunkers and skeptics more than when a supposed “expert” or “official” in any given field skips over to the perceived dark side. This happened in February 2021 after astrophysicist Avi Loeb, Director of the Harvard Astronomy Department, told the New Scientist that the space rock Oumuamua was “maybe a piece of alien technology.”

As almost the entire scientific community facepalmed, as they watched a U.S. icon of logic and reason dive down the scientific rabbit hole, Loeb doubled-down, telling Scientific American that “aliens have visited, and I am not kidding.” Loeb is now leading the Galileo Project, searching for “extraterrestrial technological signatures of Extraterrestrial Technological Civilizations (ETCs).”

Returning to the story at hand, Reda Abdel Halim is the director of public relations for the Giza pyramids district at the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Causing similar waves to Dr. Loeb in the U.S., Halim has told Cairo Live that he discovered “a statue in the pyramids area that is of similar size to the Sphinx.” In other words, he claims to have found a second sphinx.

Reda Abdel Halim has claimed that there is a second sphinx buried under the sand and that it is shaped like the Great Sphinx of Giza, pictured above. (witthaya / Adobe Stock)

Reda Abdel Halim has claimed that there is a second sphinx buried under the sand and that it is shaped like the Great Sphinx of Giza, pictured above. (witthaya / Adobe Stock)

Doubling-Down on Second Sphinx Claims

Abdel Halim, just like Loeb, has also doubled down, hard. It’s one thing to casually speculate that astounding archaeology awaits discovery beneath the Egyptian sands. But Halim has gone so far as to say that the second sphinx is “73 meters (246 ft) high, with a head 20.5 meters (67 ft) high, and hands extended over 15.5 meters (50.8 ft).” In other words, it is shaped like the Great Sphinx of Giza.

When the tourist official was pressed for evidence related to his dramatic claims, he was ready with an apparently dynamite reference, a “scientific study” no less. Supposedly undertaken by a team of experts from Egypt’s Zagazig University, Halim claimed that the archaeologists conducting the study had “confirmed the existence of this statue.” Now Halim has made waves for “rediscovering” the second sphinx statue once more.

Reda Abdel Halim, director of public relations for the Giza Pyramids district at the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has claimed that there is a second sphinx. (Facebook / Cairo24)

Reda Abdel Halim, director of public relations for the Giza Pyramids district at the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has claimed that there is a second sphinx. (Facebook / Cairo24)

Birth of the Second Sphinx Theory?

What then does the greater archaeological community have to say about Abdel Halim’s incredible claim that a second sphinx is hidden under the sand? Well, that’s the thing, they say it is “incredible.” Very incredible in fact.

This idea, in its entirety, is nothing more than a “media fanfare” according to Zahi Hawass, the well-known former Minister of Antiquities. Hawass told Al-Monitor that the Great Sphinx of Giza “is unique in Egypt and the world.” He also said Halim’s reference to a study at the Zagazig University is also “false” and that nobody in Egyptological circles knows anything about the discovery of any such second sphinx.

At this stage of the story, it’s hard not to picture Halim with a shovel, in a pit, up to his neck. As hard as it might have been reading Dr. Hawass’s response to his claims, the enthusiastic Halim could have looked up humbly (from the pit) and said, “okay, I got carried away.”

When presented with such an uncomfortable situation, Halim could have chosen to climb out of the deepening rabbit hole. But Abdel Halim’s press return statement insisted the lost Sphinx featured on ancient writings carved into the original statue, but that they were “erased” to keep the second sphinx secret. A potential conspiracy theory was born.

Zahi Hawass on the left, one of the critics of the second sphinx claims, on a visit to the Great Sphinx of Giza with Barack Obama in 2009. (Public domain)

Zahi Hawass on the left, one of the critics of the second sphinx claims, on a visit to the Great Sphinx of Giza with Barack Obama in 2009. (Public domain)

The Skeptics Bombing Run of “Baseless” Second Sphinx Claims

In military terms: Dr. Zahi Hawass was first to engage with the “bogie” (Abdel Halim) who courageously survived the first dog fight. However, over the horizon, a conceptual Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber would bring shock and awe to the extraordinary claims of Halim.

The bomber came in the form of Professor Mohammed Hamza, the former dean of the faculty of archeology at Cairo University. Putting the story to bed, Dr. Hamza told Al-Monitor that “any talk about the discovery of a new Sphinx is completely baseless.” Does that mean that this latest second sphinx claim is just another archaeological hoax?

It is perhaps worth noting that at the alleged site of the second sphinx another statue was discovered in the past. However, Dr. Halim said it has “nothing to do with the original Sphinx.” Furthermore, if you have been reading Ancient Origins news over the last two years you will understand that perhaps the greatest fact refuting the second sphinx claim is that news of such a discovery would have been all over the news. The Egyptian Antiquities Authority never fails to turn even the smallest discoveries into a story, never mind a second sphinx!

Top image: The Great Sphinx of Giza. Claims of a second sphinx are causing a stir in Egyptological circles. Source: Anton / Adobe Stock

By Ashley Cowie

 

Comments

Barry Sears's picture

I believe that from a particular point if you look at the pyramids, the apex of the pyramids will line up with a constellation, of which, this should be Leo in the land of Leo. Due to the precession combined with the altering view point as a result of the cosmic drag theory, this viewpoint would move over time. The most logical position to align the pyramid apex's with a star formation would be from the sphinx. If proven true this would then allow another means for dating.
“nothing to do with the original Sphinx.”
If another statue was positioned here, surely there must be a connection to the sphinx and the pyramids. What was it of, I wonder?
 

Crasslee's picture

I only came here for the comments. And the first has lived up to expectations. Comedy gold!

Crasslee

Gary Moran's picture

Just like a politician, it doesn”t matter whether it”s a lie, just get a story out with your name on it. Since most people don’t actually read the story, all they remember is the name. Give it a couple of years, that guy will be running for some office, and it won’t matter if he was wrong.

IronicLyricist's picture

19th century excuse me.. since the edut fuction doesnt seem to work on mobile chrome

infinitesimal waveparticles comprise what we call home the earth
manipulatable by thought ability supressed in humans since birth

IronicLyricist's picture

First of all the assumptions that such a discovery would be news worthy are absurd.. the 1st sphinx weathering indicating a much greater age is certainly not "all over the news"... The fact that the pryamids were merely REFURBISHED by khufu are not all over the news either.. or the fact that hebrew lettering were found inside the light shafts of the pyramid(all of which were ao articles) wheres the evidence for all the worldwide pyramid structures being wireless electric generators? Suppressed.. it must be nice to be so optimistic in humanity to believe that what is presented to the public is absolute truth.. but the biggest indicator that there IS a secod sphinx is the fact that these people are so vehement that its a hoax... And is it any wonder? If they found the real emerald tablets.. or another control room like in iraq and romania.. youd hardly hear a word of it.. to paraphrase one of those bankers from the 18th century.." there will come a time when everything presented to the public is a lie.. and noone will believe the truth"

infinitesimal waveparticles comprise what we call home the earth
manipulatable by thought ability supressed in humans since birth

ashley cowie's picture

Ashley

Ashley is a Scottish historian, author, and documentary filmmaker presenting original perspectives on historical problems in accessible and exciting ways.

He was raised in Wick, a small fishing village in the county of Caithness on the north east coast of... Read More

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