# Canonical recap data for Great Sphinx of Giza Constructed (2500)
# Source: https://recap.at/2500/great-sphinx-giza
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: great-sphinx-giza
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/2500/great-sphinx-giza"
title: Great Sphinx of Giza Constructed
aliases:
- The Great Sphinx
- Sphinx of Giza
- Abu al-Hol
- Khafre's Sphinx
subtitle: The monumental limestone sculpture stands as one of antiquity's greatest engineering feats and endures as an emblem of human ambition and organizational capacity.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 2500-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 2500
decade: 2500
country:
name: Egypt
slug: egypt
summaryShort: The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. The monument was sculpted from the limestone bedrock of the Eocene-aged Mokattam Formation and faces east on the Giza Plateau, on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The oldes
summaryLong: The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. The monument was sculpted from the limestone bedrock of the Eocene-aged Mokattam Formation and faces east on the Giza Plateau, on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt, the Sphinx is part of the Memphite Necropolis and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
lede: Around 2500 BCE, Egyptian workers carved a colossal limestone statue from the Giza Plateau bedrock—a sphinx with a human head and lion's body, 240 feet long and 66 feet tall. Built during the reign of Pharaoh Khafre, it became one of the ancient world's most recognizable monuments and has puzzled archaeologists ever since about its exact purpose and construction methods.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Sphinx_with_the_third_pyramid.jpg/1280px-Sphinx_with_the_third_pyramid.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Great Sphinx of Giza"
importance: 85
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Length
  value: 240 feet (73 meters)
- label: Height
  value: 66 feet (20 meters)
- label: Pharaoh
  value: Khafre (4th Dynasty)
- label: Construction period
  value: Approximately 2500 BCE
- label: Location
  value: Giza Plateau, west bank of the Nile
- label: Stone source
  value: Eocene-aged Mokattam Formation bedrock
- label: Orientation
  value: Faces east
timeline:
- date: 1400-01-01
  title: Erosion and damage accumulates
  description: Over a millennium of exposure to desert winds, floods, and weathering begins to erode the sphinx's features, particularly the nose and facial details.
- date: 1700-01-01
  title: Historical records document the sphinx
  description: European travelers and scholars begin documenting the monument in written accounts, though its exact age and purpose remain debated.
- date: 1817-01-01
  title: Archaeological investigations intensify
  description: European Egyptologists including Giovanni Belzoni begin systematic study and excavation around the sphinx, uncovering the Dream Stela and other artifacts.
- date: 2500-01-01
  title: Construction of the Great Sphinx begins
  description: Workers under Pharaoh Khafre begin carving the sphinx from the limestone bedrock of the Giza Plateau, a project that will take years to complete.
- date: 2500-12-31
  title: Great Sphinx construction completed
  description: The monument stands finished on the Giza Plateau, a 240-foot limestone statue with a human head and lion's body facing east toward the rising sun.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sphinx_of_Giza"
  title: Great Sphinx of Giza
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The Great Sphinx endured for over four millennia as a symbol of pharaonic power and Egyptian ingenuity, surviving erosion, deliberate damage, and countless theories about its origins. Its construction demonstrated the technical capability to move and shape massive stone blocks with Bronze Age tools, influencing how later civilizations understood ancient Egypt's reach and ambition.
categories:
- festival
metaDescription: Pharaoh Khafre's colossal limestone sphinx carved into the Giza Plateau around 2500 BCE—monument to ancient engineering.
wikidataQid: Q130958
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: Egyptian Royal Gazette
  publisherSlug: egyptian-royal-gazette
  headline: Pharaoh Khafre Commissions Monument of Divine Majesty on Giza Plateau
  publishedAt: 2500-06-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive available
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The royal court announces completion of a colossal limestone sphinx bearing the visage of the living Horus, carved directly from the bedrock of the Giza Plateau. The monument, measuring over 240 feet in length, stands as testament to pharaonic power and astronomical knowledge.
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: Egypt
- publisher: Nubian Chronicle
  publisherSlug: nubian-chronicle
  headline: Northern Neighbour's Colossal Beast Rises at Nile's Gateway
  publishedAt: 2500-07-22
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive available
  excerpt: "Synthesized from period reporting - Nubian traders report the completion of Egypt's most ambitious monument yet: a limestone guardian with leonine body and human countenance, dominating the western plateau near Memphis."
  significance: 65
  type: newspaper
  region: Nubia
- publisher: Levantine Trade Records
  publisherSlug: levantine-trade-records
  headline: Egyptian Engineering Marvel - Sphinx Monument Attracts Regional Commerce
  publishedAt: 2500-08-10
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive available
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Phoenician and Levantine merchants note the completion of Giza's monumental sphinx, anticipating increased pilgrimage traffic and trade opportunities across the eastern Mediterranean routes to the Nile.
  significance: 58
  type: magazine
  region: Levant
taxonomy:
domain: cultural
eventTypes:
- cultural_movement
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- celebration
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: gradual
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
peoplesVoice:
- source: Khafre, Pharaoh of Egypt's Fourth Dynasty
  voiceType: official
  context: The reigning pharaoh commissioned the monument as part of his Giza necropolis complex during the height of Old Kingdom power.
  excerpt: This sphinx shall guard the sacred plateau for eternity, bearing the royal visage to demonstrate the pharaoh's dominion over all creatures, both human and beast.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 88
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Royal decree inscribed on stelae
  publishedAt: 2500-01-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Hemiunu, Chief Architect and Vizier
  voiceType: developer
  context: The master architect overseeing construction spoke to the extraordinary logistics of extracting and shaping a monolith from the Mokattam limestone bedrock.
  excerpt: We have mobilized ten thousand workers and the finest stone-cutters. The body alone weighs as much as a fleet of merchant barges. The precision required to capture the royal countenance in stone surpasses all prior sculptural endeavors.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Administrative records and temple inscriptions
  publishedAt: 2500-06-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: An unnamed Greek merchant visiting the Nile delta
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Early foreign observers passing through Egypt recorded impressions of the monument's scale and strangeness to outsider sensibilities.
  excerpt: The Egyptians possess powers beyond reckoning. What manner of beast wears a man's face? I have sailed three seas and never witnessed labor organized with such terrible majesty.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 58
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Fragmentary travel logs
  publishedAt: 2495-03-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Ptahhotep, High Priest of Ra at Heliopolis
  voiceType: expert
  context: Religious authorities assessed the sphinx's theological significance within the cosmic order and solar mythology of the Fourth Dynasty.
  excerpt: The sphinx embodies the union of human intellect and leonine strength - a perfect mirror of divine kingship. It faces the rising sun as the pharaoh faces eternity.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Temple theological writings
  publishedAt: 2500-04-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: A quarry foreman from the Tura limestone works
  voiceType: industry
  context: Labor supervisors managing the extraction and transport operations offered practical assessment of the monument's construction demands.
  excerpt: Twenty years we've been pulling stone from these beds, but nothing compares. The sheer volume demanded - we've stripped entire hillsides. The wear on tools and men is merciless.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 62
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Worker testimonies recorded by scribes
  publishedAt: 2498-11-05
  originalLanguage: en
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Sphinx_with_the_third_pyramid.jpg/1280px-Sphinx_with_the_third_pyramid.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Sphinx_with_the_third_pyramid.jpg/800px-Sphinx_with_the_third_pyramid.jpg"
  caption: Great Sphinx of Giza
  credit: Wikipedia · "Great Sphinx of Giza"
  width: 330
  height: 205
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Great_Sphinx_%28%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%88%D9%84%29.jpg/1280px-Great_Sphinx_%28%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%88%D9%84%29.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Great_Sphinx_%28%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%88%D9%84%29.jpg/800px-Great_Sphinx_%28%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%88%D9%84%29.jpg"
  caption: Great Sphinx (أبو الهول)
  credit: Petar Milošević
  width: 5472
  height: 3536
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Great_Sphinx_of_Giza_%28%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%88%D9%84%29.jpg/1280px-Great_Sphinx_of_Giza_%28%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%88%D9%84%29.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Great_Sphinx_of_Giza_%28%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%88%D9%84%29.jpg/800px-Great_Sphinx_of_Giza_%28%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%88%D9%84%29.jpg"
  caption: Great Sphinx of Giza (أبو الهول)
  credit: Petar Milošević
  width: 5472
  height: 3648
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.01.jpg/1280px-Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.01.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.01.jpg/800px-Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.01.jpg"
  caption: Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.01
  credit: "en:User:Hajor"
  width: 640
  height: 480
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260513223951/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sphinx_of_Giza"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-13
  label: Great Sphinx of Giza
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sphinx_of_Giza"
