THE GREAT SPHINX.
An interesting work has been going on, under the direction of M. Maspéro, at the great Sphinx of Gizeh, which has been buried, all but the head, for centuries. M. Maspéro, while we write, had got down as far as the paws, on the right of which are a number of Greek inscriptions. The paws appear to be cut out of the solid stone, and afterwards built round with masonry, the surface of which is painted red with yellow additions. Bryant is of opinion that the Sphinx was originally a vast rock of different strata, which, from a shapeless mass, the Egyptians fashioned into an object of beauty and veneration. Although the excavators have now reached a lower level than Carglia and others, yet much remains to be done before the whole of this wondrous specimen of ancient art is entirely uncovered; for, if we are to believe Pliny’s statements, the head of the Sphinx was one hundred and two feet in circumference, and sixty-two feet high from the belly; whilst the body was one hundred and forty-three feet long, and was, moreover, supposed to be the sepulchre of King Amasis, who died 525 B.C. But, according to Herodotus, the body of this monarch was buried in the Temple of Sais; and on the defeat and death of his son by the Persians, it was taken from its tomb, brutally mangled, and then publicly burnt, to the horror of the Egyptian people. If the Sphinx is really found to be a solid rock, Pliny’s story of its having been a tomb falls to the ground. M. Maspéro has been working in layers of hard sand which has lain undisturbed for probably eighteen hundred years. This is found to be so close and hard, that it is more like solid stone than sand, and requires a great amount of labour to cut through. The work is, however, progressing with energy and determination, and it is to be hoped that it will not be suffered to stop abruptly for want of funds.