Desert gives up avenue of lost sphinxes

A HIDDEN wonder of the ancient world is to be unveiled in Egypt after excavation of the first stretch of a two-mile avenue lined with hundreds of carved sphinxes.

Built more than 3,000 years ago, the so-called Avenue of Sphinxes linked two giant temples and was used once a year for a religious procession. It was gradually buried by silt and built over after falling out of use in the 5th century AD.

Now it is being uncovered and the first part is expected to open within weeks. Visitors will have the chance to stroll under the imperious gaze of the sphinxes — mythological creatures with the body of a lion and head of a human or ram

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/37961b299ac2.jpg[/atsimg]


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I love these types of reports and it makes me want to get over to Egypt so that I might be able to see its ancient past first hand .

Yes , if I had a time machine I would be going back , not forward

very very cool.. they said that there are over 1350 sphinx down the avenue!!!!

Too bad there is this bit about the dig:

Controversy has surrounded the project, not least because of the speed of the excavation in which bulldozers have cut a 100-yard trench through some of the densely populated districts of Luxor.

Foreign archeologists say historical buildings have been demolished to make way for a lucrative new attraction.

“The whole thing is a disgrace,” said an American archeologist, who declined to be named because of fears of reprisals from Egyptian officials. “The work is being done in a big rush to get the place ready for tourism. Several very special buildings have been destroyed on purpose. They’re murdering the soul of the place.”

The dispute has drawn in Unesco, which has responsibility for world heritage sites such as the Luxor and Karnak temples at each end of the avenue. It accused Egypt of bulldozing potentially significant ruins in a rush to get the job done. “It is inconceivable that such an enormous expanse of the avenue was thoroughly excavated and recorded in such a short period of time,” Unesco has complained. “Heavy machinery was obviously used, as betrayed by the levelling of the soil and the marks on some of the stone blocks.”

reply to post by BeastMaster2012


Yeah but in all honesty the buildings shouldn't have been built there in the first place. In my opinion anyway. They should have taken a look around and seen what they had and the history they were literally covering up. I don't understand why they would "cover" as they say this 2 mile stretch with buildings...I get that it was a rural area and they probably wanted to just reinforce what area was already built around. That being said though they should have just built somewhere else. They probably should have left this amazing piece of history alone and built down the street is all I am saying...

Great article and I can't wait to see what else is uncovered. They say the last section that has the 1350 sphinxes mentioned will be ready to see in about 2 years. These next couple years seem to have everything and everyone held in their tight grip for some reason or another .

reply to post by Smell The Roses


The buildings the article is referring were built 500-900 years ago. In which case you have an incident of one sites history overlapping the other. The proper procedure in these situations is to carefully excavate both to the extent possible without damaging either.

It's not just a bunch of shanties thrown up in the 80's.

[edit on 17-3-2010 by D.E.M.]

reply to post by Smell The Roses


I disagree with that. They have no idea what could have been in those buildings. What if they were a museum to avenue? What if it held important scrolls or writing on the walls to tell what the sphinxes were used for? There are so many possibilities to what the buildings could have held.

2 miles long!!!!!!! Does anyone know where this was built? I want to look at the area on google maps.

I wonder if the avenue aligns to a certain constellation or planet or some kind of astronomical thing. This is a great find but they definitely messed up the digging big time.

reply to post by Max_TO


Facinating I do love the place.. it's much more impressive when you see Egypt up close and personal.. I would recommend it

I've seen a bit of the avenue around Karnak just before all the major digging started.. would love to see it again when it is finished..



[edit on 17/3/10 by thoughtsfull]

did it look something like this?

www.galenfrysinger.com...