Great Sphinx of Giza, Egypt. Photograph by Barcex
A group of archaeologists have found a section of a sphinx dedicated to Egyptian Pharaoh Mycerinus in Israel.
Mycerinus ruled Egypt circa 2,500 BC and was behind the building of one of the three great pyramids at Giza, but how part of a sphinx dedicated to him has ended up in Northern Israel is somewhat of a mystery.
The paws and forearms of the statue found at the Tel Hazor dig site are the only monumental Egyptian statue found in the Levant, and the only sphinx of Mycerinus discovered to date as well.
It is unlikely that the statue was brought to the area during the Pharoah’s reign, but it remains a mystery in which period it did find its way into Israel, and whether it was plundered from Egypt or brought as a priceless gift.
