Researchers have unearthed a sphinx-like statue and remains of a shrine at the Dendera Temple in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena. However, the stone hybrid of a human and a lion differs significantly from the famous Sphinx from Giza, which is around 20 meters high and more than 73 meters long: it has smiling facial features and looks smaller than an adult human being.
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, initial investigations indicate that it may be a depiction of the Roman Emperor Claudius, who lived from around 10 BC to 54 AD and also ruled Egypt from the year 41. It is not known when the Sphinx of Dendera was created.
The finds also include a stone slab from Roman times with inscriptions in the ancient Egyptian colloquial language Demotic and hieroglyphs.
Researchers have also found a stone slab from the Roman era in the Dendera Temple.
(Photo: AP/AP)
The limestone statue in the form of a sphinx was reportedly found in a reservoir made of red bricks covered with mortar that belongs to the shrine. Researchers dated the pool, which was equipped with a staircase, to the Byzantine period. Byzantium (Eastern Rome) ruled Egypt from about 395 AD to the mid-7th century, when Egypt was conquered by the Arabs. It is not known whether the statue has always stood in the water basin or was brought there later.
The Sphinx in its water reservoir.
(Photo: -/AFP)
Further investigations should provide information about the origin of the statue. She wears the royal headdress known as the nemes, which was worn by pharaohs.
The ancient Egyptian temple complex in Dendera is located about 55 kilometers north of Luxor and 450 kilometers south of Cairo. It is considered one of the most important and best-preserved temple complexes in Egypt and was dedicated to the goddess Hathor and the god Horus.