The Mystery of What Happened to the Great Sphinx's Nose

At Heritage Key
Who Nose What Happened to the Great Sphinx of Giza?
Submitted by Prad on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 10:55

Undated photo,
History of the Conservation of the Sphinx,
by Dr. Zahi Hawass.

Despite the horrid pun in the title (it would be hard to resist, though, LOL!), this is a brief and interesting historical review with images (old line drawings and sketches from tourists' diaries and the like) of the Great Sphinx - before and after destruction of her nose.  It seems that Napoleon's troops got a bum rap and they were NOT responsible for shooting it off in target practice back in 1798. 

So, who destroyed the Sphinx's nose - and why?  Were the people who did it religious zealots like the fundy Muslims who blew up the Great Buddha statutes in the Bamiyan Valley in 2001 in Afghanistan?  Will we ever know?