Carved Marble Sphinx Uncovered in Tang Dynasty Tomb in Northwest China

Hola darlings!

I thought this was interesting.  My first thought was that perhaps the tomb was occupied by persons closely related to the Tocharians either by kinship or by trade.

The marble sphinx unearthed in a tomb in NW China  [Credit: Xinhua]

The marble sphinx unearthed in a tomb in NW China  [Credit: Xinhua]

The photos above are from Archaeology News Network.  Here is the Xinhua article:

Rare marble sphinx unearthed in NW China

English.news.cn   2015-12-15 15:07:18

YINCHUAN, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- A rare well-preserved marble sphinx carving has been unearthed in a tomb in northwest China dating back more than 1,000 years, said Chinese archeologists on Tuesday.

The delicately-carved sphinx statue is 36 cm high with 21 cm long and 13 cm wide base. It has a human face with a bulge on the head and a sitting lion body.

The sphinx statue was excavated in November along with eight warrior, horse, camel and lion carvings in the tomb in Guyuan City, Ningxi Hui Autonomous Region.

The tomb was one of the 29 ancient graves in the area which archeologists have excavated this year to pave way for the construction of a local water plant. More than 150 funeral items, such as carvings, pottery, bronze and iron wares, have been unearthed from the graves so far.

The sphinx statue, made of white marble according to preliminary research, was intact except for minor damage in the middle of the face.

These nine marble carvings showed excellent craftsmanship, said Fan Jun, head of the excavation team of the Ningxia Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute.

According to an epitaph, the tomb housed Liu Jun and his wife, who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

"The style carvings had features from the west and are considered rare for ancient Chinese tombs during that period," said Fan. The white marble material was also rarely seen in north China, he added.

The excavations will help scientists better understand freight transport during the Tang Dynasty, said Fan.

Ningxia was along the ancient Silk Road trade route.

The original half-human, half-lion Sphinx, is believed to have been built by Egyptians 5,000 years ago. The statue is 73 meters long and 21 meters high. It sits on the west bank of the Nile River near the great pyramids of Giza to the west of Cairo.

Editor: An

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?

Has the Mystery of the Sphinx Been Solved?

Interesting article (it is five "pages" but it reads quickly) by Mark Lehner at Smithsonian Magazine online, summarizing some of his research over the past 30 plus years and conclusions about the Giza Sphinx: Uncovering Secrets of the Sphinx Very well written, and Lehner's conclusions are cogently presented. But - I have a couple of questions. I quote: The Sphinx itself, it seems, symbolized the pharaoh presenting offerings to the sun god in the court of the temple.” Hawass concurs, saying the Sphinx represents Khafre as Horus, the Egyptians’ revered royal falcon god, “who is giving offerings with his two paws to his father, Khufu, incarnated as the sun god, Ra, who rises and sets in that temple.” Horus is a falcon, not a lion. No explanation is given in the article for the transformation of Horus from falcon to lion (and, for all we know, it could have actually been a lioness. After all, is there any evidence of a mane?) So then, I am intrigued by this quote from the article: “The Egyptians didn’t write history,” says James Allen, an Egyptologist at Brown University, “so we have no solid evidence for what its builders thought the Sphinx was....Certainly something divine, presumably the image of a king, but beyond that is anyone’s guess.” Likewise, the statue’s symbolism is unclear, though inscriptions from the era refer to Ruti, a double lion god that sat at the entrance to the underworld and guarded the horizon where the sun rose and set. It was some months ago, I don't remember exactly when - I am sure I read something about a theory being floated of a "double Sphinx" - with a twin Sphinx situated on the other side of the Nile. And who is Ruti, the "double lion god?" Ah ha! Found it - I actually posted about it nearly a year ago: A Second Sphinx? was the name of the article I read and posted about. Not much on Ruti: From Pantheon.org, copying from Encyclopedia Mythica:

Ruti by Micha F. Lindemans A pair of lions worshipped in Egyptian Letopolis. But this is interesting - Aker - from Wikipedia (oh I know, I know, but the Smithsonian article also mentioned Aker and the horizon, and a particular optical illusion that occurs with the Sphinx and other objects on the Giza Plateau during a certain time of year, which gives credence to the information recorded at this Wikipedia entry: Aker (god) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In Egyptian mythology, Aker (also spelt Akar) was one of the earliest gods worshipped, and was the deification of the horizon. There are strong indications that Aker was worshipped before other known Egyptian gods of the earth, such as Geb. In particular, the Pyramid texts make a sinister statement that the Akeru (plural of Aker) will not seize the pharaoh, as if this were something that might have happened, and was something of which to be afraid. Aker itself translates as (one who) bends, and thus Akeru translates as benders, though in what sense this is meant is not fully understood. As the horizon, Aker was also seen as symbolic of the borders between each day, and so was originally depicted as a narrow strip of land (i.e. a horizon), with heads on either side, facing away from one another, a symbol of borders. Since the sun reaches its peak (its solstice) in the zodiac of Leo, these heads were usually those of lions. Over time, the heads became full figures of lions (still facing away from each other), one representing the concept of yesterday (Sef in Egyptian), and the other the concept of tomorrow (Duau in Egyptian).[1] Consequently, Aker often became referred to as Ruti, the Egyptian word meaning two lions. Between them would often appear the hieroglyph for horizon, which was the sun's disc placed between two mountains. Sometimes the lions were depicted as being covered with leopard-like spots, leading some to think it a depiction of the extinct Barbary lion, which, unlike African species, had a spotted coat. Since the horizon was where night became day, Aker was said to guard the entrance and exit to the underworld, opening them for the sun to pass through during the night. As the guard, it was said that the dead had to request Aker to open the underworld's gates, so that they might enter. Also, as all who had died had to pass Aker, it was said that Aker annulled the causes of death, such as extracting the poison from any snakes that had bitten the deceased, or from any scorpions that had stung them. As the Egyptians believed that the gates of the morning and evening were guarded by Aker, they sometimes placed twin statues of lions at the doors of their palaces and tombs. This was to guard the households and tombs from evil spirits and other malevolent beings. This practice was adopted by the Greeks and Romans, and is still unknowingly followed by some today. Unlike most of the other Egyptian deities, the worship of Aker remained popular well into the Greco-Roman era. Aker had no temples of his own like the main gods in the Egyptian religion, since he was more connected to the primeval concepts of the very old earth powers. Well - the weirdest damn thing just happened; I just turned (like three seconds ago) to hit the remote to a new channel on the television; it was the end of a PBS show and lo and behold, up flashed on the screen a golden-colored head of a carved lioness in an advertisement for shows on PBS Channel 36 and then poof, it was gone in a flash. Hmmm.... That was on channel 36-4 in Milwaukee. Okay - back from One Step Beyond. I note that in the description of Ruti - the lions face opposite each other, on either side of an imaginery line representing the horizon. So, that rather nixes any thought of twin Sphinxes facing each other across the Nile River. But - might there be a twin Sphinx somewhere on the opposite end of the Giza Plateau facing away from the Sphinx we know? Hey, who knows? New discoveries are routinely being made even in places thought to have been thoroughly excavated 100 years and more ago. So, the tantalizing possibility exists that, someday, when the ever-shifting sands of the Giza Plateau shift yet again, some tiny fragment may come to light, some small piece of rock that trips an unsuspecting horse and once again a female American tourist stumbles to the plain as she tumbles from the horse and - ouch - a new discovery is made...

A Second Sphinx?

Hola darlings! It's raining hard right now, been doing so since about 5:30 p.m. Fortunately, I had my trusty umbrella with me and so during the walk home from the bus stop I was able to keep the rain out of my eyes and face! From about the waist down the rest of me was soaked, oy! Amazingly, there was still some 7 inch deep drifted snow left up near the garage door when I got home - I thought what was left after the past couple days of milder temperatures might have melted away today, particularly with the rain. Oh well. So, I was a good homeowner and tired as I was, and wet as I was, I pulled out the shovel and got even wetter while I shoveled away the rest of the snow. Anyway, while I'm slowly drying off I visited Daily Grail and came across this interesting story. I do not think I've posted about it before. Generally I'm very skeptical when it comes to this kind of thing - particularly speculation that there is a "something" "somewhere" deep beneath Giza that - take your pick - hides (a) endless treasure (b) the knowledge of the Universe (c) Goddess (d) gold-plated bon bons, but I have to say the author has put together a compelling argument that I think warrants further investigation with respect to the reality of a second "mirror" sphinx on the opposite of the Nile. A fascinating logistical problem, trying to pinpoint the possible location of the now destroyed second Sphinx. The article is from Histories & Mysteries, written by Antoine Gigal: A Second Sphinx at Gizeh? 23rd February, 2009 Antoine Gigal has unearthed historical evidence that shows that until the 11th century AD, a Second Sphinx existed on the Gizeh plateau, which has since been dismantled. In 1858, François Auguste Mariette was charged by the Duke of Luynes to verify the proposition of Pliny the Elder that the Sphinx had been constructed, and was not monolithic. He opened a trench near the pyramid of Khufu (4th Dynasty, 2589-2566 BC) and in a sanctuary of Isis (dating from the 1st century BC), where he found the so-called “Inventory Stele”. The stele states that “during the reign of Khufu, he ordered the construction of a monument the length of the Sphinx.” This logically concludes that the Sphinx was already there, and that the standard theory, which is that the Sphinx is contemporary with Khafre (4th Dynasty, 2520-2494 BC), is incorrect. No wonder therefore that the majority of Egyptologists try to turn the attention away from the Inventory Stele, as it poses too many problems. Some prefer to affirm that this stele was a list of the inventory of the temple of Isis and that it therefore dates from the 26th Dynasty only. Maybe, but Mariette, its discoverer, passed more than ten years researching the Gizeh plateau, and walked away with the conviction that the stele was erected by Khufu himself. It was Captain Giovanni Battista Caviglia who, in 1816, cleaned the Sphinx and its surrounding temples from the sand, and attributed the construction of the Sphinx to Khafre because of the proximity of his pyramid to the Sphinx. However, not a single inscription has confirmed this link and the Sphinx is not even in alignment to this pyramid. There is also a text from Pharaoh Amenhotep II (ca. 1448-1420 BC), in which the Sphinx is mentioned and is labelled “older than the pyramids”. Then there is the famous Dream Stele of Tuthmosis IV (18th Dynasty, 1420-1411 BC), in which certain Egyptologists (all too quickly) believe they have seen the name of Khafre on a piece of the inscription – today no longer present – on the stele, in the praises to a deity, even though the name is not there in reality, but only in the outline of a single syllable, which is long from conclusive in such an affirmation. They have furthermore inserted, in the translation, a second syllable that does not exist on the stele itself! Tuthmosis IV was only a prince and at the time, no heir to the throne. After a hunt, he reposed in the shadow of the head of the Sphinx, which was the only part of the monument that was still above ground – the underlying structures all covered by sand. In his sleep, he dreamed that the Sphinx asked him to be uncovered from the sands. In return, the Sphinx would give him power and fortune. Indeed, Tuthmosis decided to execute his dream and became soon afterwards Pharaoh, as well as very rich. However, that what is particularly interesting on the Dream Stele of Tuthmosis IV is the representation of the Sphinx. There are two! Equally, one can see that the two Sphinxes sit on architectural constructions, i.e. a small temple with a gate. The usual interpretation from Egyptologists is that these temples are merely the representation of that what is present in front and to the South of the Sphinx. However, such a conclusion should fail to satisfy anyone, as it is well-known that the rules of perspective for the ancient Egyptians were very strict, and no official artist would allow himself to deviate from reality to such an extent. Most importantly, in the Inventory Stele, there is mention of a lightning strike that struck the cap of a Second Sphinx, as well as a sycamore tree, a sacred tree in those days, which was burned by the same lightning strike. The lightning strike marked the beginning of the end of this Second Sphinx. According to archaeologist Michael Poe, who refers to papyrus fragments from the Middle Kingdom, the Second Sphinx was located face to face with the still-existing Sphinx. It was located on the other side of the Nile, and was destroyed by a violent rising of the river Nile ca. 1000 AD. The local people took stones from the structure to rebuild their villages. This thesis is confirmed by other texts, such as those of the great Arab geographer and scholar Al-I-Drisi (1099-1166 AD) in his two geographical encyclopaedias (Kitab al Mamalk, Al-Mamsalik, and Kitab al Jujori). He mentions the presence of two sphinxes at Gizeh, monuments he describes in great detail: one is in a very bad state, licked by the waters of the Nile, and several stones are missing. Other authors also mention the existence of two sphinxes. The famous historian Musabbihi writes about a “sphinx smaller than the other” (likely because the other one had deteriorated badly by that time) on the other side of the Nile, made from bricks and stones (Annals of Rubi II, ca. 1024). In total, these accounts presents conclusive evidence that in origin, there were two sphinxes: one, the Sphinx which still exists; a Second Sphinx on the opposite side of the Nile, made from bricks, at first damaged and in relatively modern times, the 11th century, used as a quarry, thus completely dismantling the structure. As to the precise location of the Second Sphinx, at the moment, there are three possibilities. The work is made especially hard as the area has many modern buildings. We only know that the Sphinx was on the other side of the Nile, a river that was much wider in those days, especially at the time of the inundations. The all-important question is, nevertheless, this: why is not more written about this Second Sphinx? What is there to hide? Why not mention its deconstruction together with the removal of the outer lining of the Great Pyramid, which was equally used by the people of Cairo for their homes. Perhaps the reason is more complex: because these Sphinxes hide something that gains access to something underneath the Gizeh plateau? Let us note that in the 10th century AD, the greatest Arab chroniclers and historians mentioned the existence of gates that provided access to subterranean galleries under the Sphinx. That, however, is a different story.

*************************************************************

Antoine Gigal is a French writer and researcher, and the Egyptian correspondent for the French ‘L’Egypte’ magazine.Gigal’s early years were spent in Africa and South America, where her father worked as journalist and diplomat. This has taken her all over the world exploring diverse cultures and civilizations. She studied at Sorbonne Paris III University and the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO), where she graduated in Chinese and Japanese languages and civilizations.

Speaking Arabic, Spanish, Italian and French, for the last 20 years, she was lived mainly in Egypt, and calls Paris her second home. Gigal lectures extensively on Egypt and leads several study tours of Egypt every year. Gigal has travelled to even the most remote archaeological areas and is able to gain access to monuments not open to general public. With the eye of an astute detective, Gigal has made a name for herself in France as someone who is able to bring new and first-hand information about the mysteries of ancient Egypt.

I'm wondering about that sacred Sycamore tree that was struck by lightening. How do you get a tree to grow in the middle of the desert? Well, of course, they were quite near the Nile - but you still need dirt, not sand, to grow things in. Did they haul in dirt by the wheel barrow full? Were there special attendants for the tree, who watered it daily during the hot stretches? Did they know about fertilizer (for instance, the American Indians whom the Pilgrims met when they landed at Plymouth Rock taught the English about using dead fish partially buried around the roots of corn plants to help them grow more - granted a couple thousand years later!) and mulching?

When the tree was destroyed by the lightning strike, was a sapling replanted, or did the tree resprout from the roots -- those would not have been killed by the lightning.

So many questions - and no answers.

According to Frazer's "The Golden Bough," Sycamore bough figured in the celebration of the yearly re-enactment of the funeral rites of Osiris as they were described in a "long inscription of the Ptolemic period:" On the twenty-fourth of Khoiak, after sunset, the effigy of Osiris in a coffin of mulberry wood was laid in the grave, and at the ninth hour of the night the effigy which had been made and deposited the year before was removed and placed upon boughs of sycamore. Lastly, on the thirtieth day of Khoiak they repaired to the holy sepulchre, a subterranean chamber over which appears to have grown a cplum of Persea-trees. Entering the vault by the western door, they laid the coffined effigy of the dead god reverently on a bed of snad in the chamger. So they left him to his rest, and departed from the sepulchre by the eastern door. Thus ended the ceremonies in the month of Khoiak."

No mention of what happened to the year-old effigy placed upon the "boughts of sycamore." Was it burned? Was it set on a special reed boat and set adrift on the Nile - perhaps "fired" like the Vikings did a thousand years later?

Arggghhhh!

Also wondering if this quaint custom has any possible connection to the ancient Egyptian rituals:

In discussing "Relics of tree-worship in modern Europe," Frazer cited Sir Henry Piers "Description of Westmeath" writing in 1682: "Among ancient customs still retained by the Cornish, may be reckoned that of decking their doors and porches on the first of May with green boughs of sycamore and hawthorn, and of planting trees, or rather stumps of trees, before their houses."

Hmmmm...

The Sphinx of India

Information from the archaeologychannel.org

With a lion’s body and a human head, the sphinx is a well known symbol of ancient art and myth. For the ancients, it was an elevated spiritual being, embodying secret knowledge and wisdom, that guarded sacred places. The most famous example is the Great Sphinx of Egypt, guarding the pyramids. Though it usually is connected with the ancient civilizations of Greece and Egypt, many depictions are found also around the Mediterranean and in the Middle East. But as seen in this video, the sphinx (or purushamriga) is also part of Indian art and tradition.

For more information: The Living Tradition of the Sphinx in India.

Also see a post dated December 5, 2007 at Mary Harrsch’s Passionate About History blog. Her blog doesn’t provide a link-back option for individual posts, you’ll have to scroll down to find it at her site. It’s very interesting.