Archaeologists discover sphinx-shaped statue and shrine in Egypt

A new sphinx-like statue has been discovered in Egypt, but historians believe this one to be Roman.

The smiling sculpture and the remains of a shrine were found during an excavation mission in Qena, a southern Egyptian city on the eastern banks of the Nile River.

The shrine was carved out of limestone and consisted of a two-tiered platform, Mamdouh Eldamaty, a former minister of antiquities and professor of Egyptology at Ain Shams University, said in a statement on Monday from Egypt’s ministry of tourism and antiquities.

A ladder and a mud-brick basin for storing water were found inside.

The basin, believed to date back to the Byzantine era, housed the smiling statue of the sphinx, carved from limestone.

Eldamaty described the statue as having “real facial features”. He had a “soft smile” with two dimples. He also wore a nemes on his head – the striped cloth headdress traditionally worn by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, with a snake-shaped tip or “uraeus”.

A Roman stele with hieroglyphic and demotic writings from Roman times was found below the sphinx.

The professor said the statue could represent Roman Emperor Claudius, the fourth Roman emperor who ruled from 41 to 54, but noted that more studies were needed to verify the structure’s owner and history.

The discovery was made on the east side of the Temple of Dendera in Qena, where excavations are still ongoing.

Sphinxes are recurring creatures in the mythologies of ancient Egyptian, Persian and Greek cultures. Their likenesses are often found near tombs or religious buildings.

It is not uncommon for new sphinx statues to be found in Egypt. But the country’s most famous sphinx, the Great Sphinx of Giza, dates back to around 2,500 BC and represents the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Khafre.

Eldamaty, who is also president of the university, said in a separate statement that this is the first Egyptian mission to the site at Dendera.

Work will continue for many seasons to come, Eldamaty said, as excavations at the site promise to “add much to the history of Egyptian civilization in the Greek and Roman eras.”