of the plateau. A number of Egyptologists suggest that Sphinx was carved from a block left over from the quarrying undertaken by Khufu, hence the south-easterly dip in terrain. Topographical research has proven this claim false, presenting evidence that the topography of the Giza plateau was a result of natural process. The Giza area was inundated by a surge of the Mediterranean Sea during the Pliocene era (2 to 7 million years ago), resulting in the plateau and the north and eastward facing cliffs that surround it. Although arid conditions have dominated most of the dynastic period of Egyptian history, wetter periods are known to have existed, with current arid conditions not fully established until the end of the fifth dynasty. During the transition period however, arid conditions were interrupted by seasonal rain. Given the little vegetation or sub-soil cover, sporadic heavy rainfall would quickly saturate the plateau, seeing how under the sand is rock. The water would flow down the sloping topography east and hit the Sphinx on the western side causing erosion. Although both western and eastern exposures of the Sphinx are the same age, erosion on the west is significantly more sever. As both archaeological and climate indicate, Giza was subject to rain and rain “run-off” during the forth and part of the fifth dynasty. So this fact alone does not, in itself, require a revision of the Sphinx’s birthday.Located to the west (uphill) of the Sphinx an archaeological excavation revealed a 480-foot long (twice as long as Sphinx) quarry filled by windblown sand. Upon total excavation, quarry inscriptions were found attributing it to Khufu. This large hole consisted of highly permeable unconsolidated sand that would have surely intercepted all the “run-off” water from its west, that would have previously raced towards the Sphinx. This, however, lies in contradiction to the Sphinx’s severe water e...
