The mystery of the Great Sphinx of Giza has puzzled Egyptologists for centuries.
Experts are still divided on when the colossal limestone guardian, which stretches 240 feet in length and rises 66 feet in height, was built.
Egyptology’s main focus on this is the reign of Pharaoh Khafre – known as the Old Kingdom – 4,500 years ago, around 2500 BC.
But now a famous American geologist has weighed in, suggesting it could be much, much older than previously thought.
Dr. Robert Schoch, a Yale-trained academic, told the Daily Mail that the steep structure could actually be as old as 10,000 BC.
He argues that the Sphinx and its weathered enclosure show signs of heavy rainfall, which is inconsistent with the dry climate that the Sahara has known for 5,000 years.
He said: “It’s basically Geology 101, the body of the Sphinx shows a rolling, undulating profile with deep vertical cracks at its base.
“Such erosion can only occur from water coming from above, rainfall and flash floods flowing from the plateau onto the enclosure.”
The Great Sphinx is a colossal limestone statue of a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man, located on the Giza Plateau in Egypt. Leading Egyptologists date it to the reign of Pharaoh Khafre, 4,500 years ago.
dr. Schoch links the Sphinx’s weather to a cataclysm around 9700 BC, when he believes a massive solar flare that ended the ice age caused a global flood.
But he didn’t always think that way.
In 1990, he joined independent Egyptologist John Anthony West on a trip to a site beyond the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre.
There he planned to debunk West’s theories that the Sphinx was much older than previously believed.
“I think I’m basically going to tell him he’s got it all wrong,” Dr. Schoch said.
“That there was a simple explanation for what he saw, that weathering and erosion, which he attributed to water, is not accurate.”
The rounded contours and deep vertical cracks found in the limestone of the Mokattam Formation surrounding the Great Sphinx
Instead, after checking the website “within 90 seconds,” he said he was convinced otherwise.
He now believes that the cataclysmic event destroyed a forgotten civilization – one that first built the Sphinx.
He said: “The ancient dynastic Egyptians spoke of an earlier cycle of civilization that went back thousands of years.”
This primordial era – called Zep Tepi, or “the first time” – is mentioned in ancient Egyptian texts and dates between 2400 and 2300 BC.
The forgotten civilization is also found in the Turin King List, a papyrus cataloging mythical pre-dynastic rulers dating back to 1279 BC and describing a golden age when “gods walked among men.”
Dr. Schoch’s original position was one of many mainstream scientists: the erosion was caused by wind or moving water, which would have come from the flooding of the Nile River.
But now he cites two points that made him reconsider his position on this trip to Egypt.
Yale-trained geologist Dr. Robert Schoch has studied the Sphinx for over 30 years, concluding that it was built more than 12,000 years ago.
First, he said, “The erosion and weathering of the Sphinx did not correspond to the dry conditions of the Sahara. They point to a much earlier, wetter climate.”
The second was the enclosure itself. It was a quarry-like depression carved from the limestone of the Mokattam Formation, which exhibited rounded contours and deep vertical cracks.
He said both features are signs of precipitation, not horizontal wear.
Schoch explained that flooding the Nile “would provide a different kind of erosion profile” than what is seen in the structure today.
His findings are more closely aligned with the African Humid Period from 14,500 to 5,000 years ago (around 12,000 to 3,000 BC).
At that time, the Sahara was a lush grassland fed by monsoons, as shown by pollen found deep in the sediments of Lake Chad’s Yoa and traces of ancient riverbeds throughout the region.
He believes the evidence lies in erosion along the base, which he believes was from excessive amounts of water resulting from a cataclysmic event that triggered the Ice Age more than 11,000 years ago.
This led Dr. Schoch to believe that the civilization during Khafre’s reign actually repaired the Sphinx, rather than building it.
He noted that the Sphinx’s head is currently much smaller than its body, suggesting that the structure was re-carved at some point.
“The original head would have been very durable and destroyed, as would the body. And during the dynasty, around 2500 BC, the body of the Sphinx was heavily repaired by the Egyptians.
“I believe this ancient structure was considered very sacred and important.
Dr. Robert Schoch believes that civilization repaired the Sphinx during the reign of Khafre, noting that the head is much smaller than the body
“Evidence of repairs is still visible on the body of the Sphinx, with blocks dating to the Old Kingdom, New Kingdom, Greco-Roman periods, and even more recent times.
‘The oldest repair blocks date to the Old Kingdom … which makes absolutely no sense [for the supposed 2500 BCE construction date].’
He explained that if the Sphinx’s basic dating is accurate, it would mean that the ancient Egyptians made repairs to even the slightest amount of erosion on the massive monument, something he said was unlikely.
Although Schoch’s theory remains controversial, it has reignited interest in the true origins of the Sphinx.
Leading Egyptologists, including Dr. Zahi Hawass and Mark Lehner, continue to argue that the monument dates only to the reign of Pharaoh Khafre.
They argue that the observed erosion is explained by salt exfoliation and other natural processes, not precipitation.
However, the debate highlights how much is still unknown about the Sphinx, its construction, and the environment of ancient Egypt.
If Shoh’s dating is correct, it could indicate that an advanced civilization existed thousands of years before Egypt’s known pharaohs, potentially transforming our understanding of human history.
