European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 21, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse A a a a a a i a. Ancient Egypt. A it a a v a % ,4 i v 5quot a Quot to a n. K. K so a 1 it a a \ a t ,4 a by vvw&3b a a a "7 la a b it v s by 0 v it is to i. V \ v 71v f of is a v v n v a visitor Scales the Steps leading to the Entrance of the Pyramid of Khufu left the great pyramids of Glia Are heated just outside area on Camel Donkey or of drawn sleds and up Brick ramps. The work was performed with such Mastery that Row of Stone More than 220 Yards Long vary in level by no More than three quarters of an Inch. The largest of Pyramid that of Khufu is one of the three great pyramids and had an original estimated height of 482 feet. Its outer facing stones have been stripped off Over the centuries to be used by builders of Cairo in their own monuments. The Pyramid is now 30 feet Shorter. It contains 2.3 million blocks each More than 40 inches Square and weighing an average of 2 v4 tons piled one on top of the other. Some 100,000 men Laboured for 20 years during Khufu s 24-year reign to build this Pyramid. The base measurement is 754 feet wide and its area could accommodate the cathedrals of Florence Milan and St Peter s in Rome together with Westminster Abbey and St. Paul s in London. The Pyramid of Shafra Khufu s son is the second largest. It gives the impression of being higher than the first because of the plateau on which it stands. It was originally 469 feet High but is now 442 feet High. The famous Sphinx called Aboul Hul by the arabs guards the Pyramid of Shafra. The Sphinx is made of Sandstone and stands 65 feet High and 240 feet Long. It has the body of a lion with a human head and is believed to be Shafra s effigy. The Beard and nose a re missing. The Pyramid of men Kaura is half the mass of Shafra. Its Apex was 216 feet High but is now 203 feet High three Queen pyramids lie on its Southern Side each of which is no More than 33 feet High. By Mimi Mann the associated press restorers of the Sphinx Are uncovering the Lone hidden history of one of the ancient world s great mysterious legacies even the Story of now it was built. Among riddles being answered Are whether the Man beast crouching at the foot of the Giza pyramids originally had a Beard and whether the Sphinx was meant As a Star attraction or just something to hide an ugly Rock. Who built the Sphinx Why How what did the ancient Sphinx took like answers to All these questions now Are known said Zahi harass general antiquities director for die pyramids and Sphinx. Quot the mystery of the Sphinx has been revealed Quot he declared. Major restoration of the 4,600-year-old Monument began in the Spring of 1988 after a Large Stone fell from its right shoulder. A year later experts called in Mahmoud Mabrouk a Cairo sculptor to apply an artist s touch to the massive statue. Mabrouk did not come to rewrite history but As he inched his Way removing and repairing blocks peering deep into the heart of the Mother Rock he found a Sphinx far different from the one other people see. Quot nobody writing about the Sphinx about its dating and functions has Ever truly examined it and looked behind its smile Quot harass said. Quot for the first time we see the mystery of the restoration supplies answers to questions Sphinx through an artist s that is the key Mabrouk said. The Sphinx is puzzling to the world but Quot to a sculptor it can be these Are some of the most most dramatic discoveries since restoration began a Many egyptology its have believed ancient artists situated the Sphinx a Stone outcropping an eyesore that marred the Beauty of the pyramids behind it. Mabrouk found that the Sphinx was meant for a particular spot according to a master plan. A artists started work on the Sphinx by outlining the face and neck. Architects followed to shape the rest of the body. Artists again were summoned to give the statue its lion shaped body and Tail and to finish facial details. A original stones in the Sphinx s Chest suggest they supported the weight of a Beard. Remnants of a later Beard Are now in museums in Egypt and England. A Sphinx artists worked As a team producing a masterpiece but Over the centuries their skills were lost. In repairs restoration of the Sphinx has revealed clues to its past Over the Milf riia restorers dramatically changed its shape by adding smaller stones randomly. Among Mabrouk s most significant insights is that the famous statue was carved into the shape of a Sphinx and placed in a particular spot for a specific reason. The sculptor says the pharaoh had a master plan for itza plateau from the pyramids to the Nile Quot the big Man came Here and told his architects i want a Sphinx Here Quot Mabrouk said. Quot geologists told the pharaoh the Rock was weak. He insisted the work proceed Quot after artists outlined the face stonecutters quarried Rock around the Sphinx fashioning building blocks for the pyramids and other nearby monuments. Architects used some of them to cover weaker areas of the Mother Rock that became the Sphinx s body. Master artisans then returned to give the face a pharaoh s pomp and its Subtle smile a and according to Mabrouk a Beard harass said the pharaoh of the Sphinx was Chepren whose reign ended in 2494 . He built the Sphinx and a Temple in Honor of a new religion begun by his father Cheops who became in death the Sun god a. The Sphinx with Chepren $ face is the god horus son of a. So both Chepren and horus pay eternal homage to their Mutual father the Sun. January 21, 1993 stripes Magazine 73
