Mark Lehner talks to Smithsonian Magazine about the Sphinx

Uncovering Secrets of the Sphinx

Nice lengthy article on Lehner's views of the Sphinx. Lehner earned a doctorate of Egyptology from Yale on his research of the Sphinx. He also described a line along which several elements of the Giza plateau extend, known as the "Lehner line".

reply to post by Blackmarketeer
Cheers BM, for posting this link. I enjoy reading Lehner's accounts of Egypt. His books are academic and dry, but his interviews carry his enthusiasm for the mystery of archaeology. My interest in the academic side of history was begun by the same mystical, 'forbidden archaeology & ancient astronauts' speculation that inspired Lehner. Likewise, with more reading, I came to realise that those guys did it all by themselves. It's a great human story

Reading an article like...Who Built the Pyramids? can actually lead to a bigger sense of wonder than any of the 'aliens built them' theories.

If more folk would dive in and read some of the academic acounts, they'd understand that the 'aliens/secret technology' theories are really a lesser reality. The real magic happens when people like Lehner help to plonk us 4000 years back in time. All the monuments, pyramids, tombs and artifacts are like postcards from the past...written by real people. All the people that left the legacy of Egypt were sons and daughters, friends and family. What they left took planning, talent, skills and lots of sweat.

I especially enjoyed the long but very informative article! Thanks for bringing this up and thanks for the link!

Thank you for feeding my hunger for things Egyptian! After reading that article I really want to see the Sphinx! I can only imagine what it must be like to stand before such a colossal example of human engineering.

Lehner's observations at the Giza plateau are an eye-opener, he had a real ability of stepping back and "seeing" the whole site en masse. His observations showed the overall "connectedness" of the site.

If more folk would dive in and read some of the academic acounts, they'd understand that the 'aliens/secret technology' theories are really a lesser reality. The real magic happens when people like Lehner help to plonk us 4000 years back in time. All the monuments, pyramids, tombs and artifacts are like postcards from the past...written by real people. All the people that left the legacy of Egypt were sons and daughters, friends and family. What they left took planning, talent, skills and lots of sweat.

I couldn't agree more, once you get past the distractions of "aliens build it", you'll see the real magic of AE, and the rest of the ancient world. (Although I'm not willing to rule out an earlier civilization(s) that had an impact on AE!)

Thank you! Lehner is my crush, serious Egyptologist crush!

His dedication to Giza is unrivaled, and his works are too boring for most ATSers as they are the result of decades of research combined with historical tangible evidence and scientific analysis.

S and F.

Has Lehner ever expounded on his "Lehner line", beyond his initial observation? I see contributor's like Scott Creighton who have expounded on it, but what of it's original discoverer?

One big question that I'm always wondering about when it comes to the Sphinx and the Lehner Line, is this: why only at Giza? Why isn't this a feature at other pyramid sites?

reply to post by frankensence
Fran, if you read BlackMarketeer's link in his OP and the one in my reply, you might get some answers. There's a lot of text in both links, but they are well worth making a coffee and carefully reading them.

It isn't that well-known anymore...Lehner shared your beliefs when he started out. His ambition was to prove that there was a Hall of Records and that Edgar Cayce was right. His studies and research on-site changed his views.