Narrator: A LION WITH
THE HEAD OF A MAN, CARVED FROM A SINGLE PIECE OF
ROCK IN THE EGYPTIAN DESERT. NO MONUMENT ON EARTH
IS MORE RECOGNIZABLE OR MORE PUZZLING. Woman: WELL, THE ENDURING
MYSTERY OF THIS IS THAT WE KNOW
SO LITTLE ABOUT IT. Man: THERE ARE NO RECORDS. THE SPHINX IS SO MASSIVE
AND SO MYSTERIOUS! Man: THERE'S SOMETHING WE MUST
BE MISSING WITH THIS! Narrator: NOW, A TEAM OF
INVESTIGATORS WILL TRY TO PUT A NAME TO THIS FACE, AND PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO
THE OLDEST MYSTERY OF THEM ALL-- THE RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX. THE RELICS OF THE PAST
HOLD SECRETS... ...WRITTEN IN GOLD, STONE
AND BLOOD. WE CAN UNLOCK THEM. THESE ARE THE SECRETS OF
HISTORY'S GREATEST TREASURES. EGYPT IS HOME TO SOME OF THE
WORLD'S GREAT ANCIENT TREASURES. AND IN THE DESERT SANDS
OF GIZA, NEAR CAIRO, SITS ONE OF THE GREATEST
OF THEM ALL. THE SPHINX. A MYTHICAL CREATURE WITH
THE BODY OF A LION AND THE HEAD OF A MAN. AT NEARLY 60 FEET HIGH
AND 240 FEET LONG, THE SPHINX IS THE BIGGEST SINGLE
STONE STATUE IN EXISTENCE, AS TALL AS A SIX-STORY BUILDING,
AS LONG AS A 747 JET. IT HAS WATCHED OVER THE WORLD
FOR MILLENNIA, AND STANDS GUARD OVER
THE GREAT PYRAMID, LAST SURVIVOR OF THE SEVEN
WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. THE GREAT SPHINX IS ONE OF THE
WORLD'S MOST ICONIC MONUMENTS. AND DR. MELINDA HARTWIG
IS AN ARCHAEOLOGIST WHO SEEKS TO UNLOCK
ITS MYSTERIES. Melinda Hartwig:
THIS IS AMAZING. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE
HOW THIS HAS JUST CAPTURED THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF
TRAVELERS AND VISITORS AND KINGS FOR THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS
OF YEARS. I MEAN, WHO WOULDN'T BE
CAPTIVATED BY IT? Narrator: THE SPHINX HAS DRAWN
EXPLORERS FOR CENTURIES AND IS ONE OF THE MOST STUDIED
TREASURES OF ALL ANTIQUITY. BUT IT REMAINS
A FRUSTRATING PUZZLE. Hartwig: WE REALLY DON'T KNOW
MUCH ABOUT IT. THERE ARE NO TEXTS THAT DATE
FROM THE TIME THAT IT WAS BUILT. YOU WOULD HAVE EXPECTED
THE EGYPTIANS TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT IT. WE LOOK AT THE SPHINX AND,
WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS IT FOR? WHO DID IT? THESE ARE SORT OF
THE ENDURING QUESTIONS THAT WE CONTINUE TO ASK
AS ARCHAEOLOGISTS. Narrator: NOW A TEAM OF EXPERTS
IS SETTING OUT TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF
THE SPHINX ONCE AND FOR ALL. WHEN WAS IT BUILT? WHY? AND WHOSE FACE DOES IT BEAR? CAN THEY PUT A NAME TO HIM? Hartwig: EVERY STATUE
REPRESENTED SOMEONE. IT COULD BE A KING,
IT COULD BE A PRIVATE PERSON, IT COULD BE A GOD. Narrator: WAS THE SPHINX AN ACT
OF DEVOTION BY A LOYAL SON? Woman: HE IS SHOWING
TO THE WORLD THAT HE IS A LEGITIMATE HEIR, AND THEREFORE, HE HAS
EVERY RIGHT TO RULE. Narrator: WAS IT ONE PART OF
A MUCH BIGGER SECRET PLAN? Man: SO THE MAIN PURPOSE
OF ALL THIS CONSTRUCTION, ALL THIS BUILDING,
WAS TO ENSURE THE ETERNAL LIFE, THE IMMORTAL EXISTENCE
OF THE PHARAOH. Narrator: OR DID IT START OUT
AS SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY? Man: TAKING ALL THIS
EVIDENCE TOGETHER, IT'S QUITE CLEAR TO ME THAT
WHEN THIS WAS FIRST BUILT, IT WAS BUILT AS A LION. Narrator: COMPETING THEORIES. ONLY ONE SOLUTION. GABER OMAR IS
AN EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGIST WHO HAS SPENT YEARS SEARCHING
FOR THE ORIGINS OF THE GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA. BUT EVEN TODAY,
THIS GIANT MONSTER CONTINUES TO THROW UP
TANTALIZING NEW CLUES. AND A RECENT DISCOVERY HAS BEGUN
TO SHED NEW LIGHT ON THIS ENDURING MYSTERY. IT'S THE HALF-BURIED REMAINS
OF AN ANCIENT WALL. Gaber Omar: AS WE WERE
EXCAVATING HERE IN THIS PLACE, WE DISCOVERED PART OF THE WALL. WE THOUGHT AT THE VERY BEGINNING
IT WAS JUST A SMALL WALL. WHEN WE KEPT DIGGING,
WE FOUND SUCH A HUGE WALL EXTENDING FROM THE NORTH
TO THE SOUTH. THE MUD BRICKS WERE IN
A VERY GOOD CONDITION, SO WE THOUGHT,
THIS MUST BE A MODERN WALL. Narrator: ON CLOSER EXAMINATION,
OMAR WAS ASTONISHED TO DISCOVER THE WALL ENCLOSED
THE ENTIRE SPHINX AND THE RUIN TEMPLES THAT SIT
IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF IT. WE MAY THINK OF THE SPHINX AS
A GUARDIAN OF THE PYRAMIDS. BUT THIS NEW EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THE GUARDIAN WAS ITSELF
UNDER PROTECTION. BUT WHO WAS GUARDING IT,
AND WHY? CONCEALED IN THE WALL,
AN IMPORTANT LEAD IS DISCOVERED. BENEATH CENTURIES
OF SAND AND DIRT, ARCHAEOLOGISTS
UNCOVERED A CLUE-- A ROYAL SEAL KNOWN
AS A CARTOUCHE BEARING THE NAME OF
THE PHARAOH THUTMOSE IV. THUTMOSE RULED EGYPT IN
THE 18th DYNASTY AROUND 1400 BC. AND HE WAS FAMOUS FOR
HIS AMBITIOUS BUILDING PROJECTS. SO COULD THE PRESENCE OF
THUTMOSE'S CARTOUCHE ON THE SPHINX WALL
MEAN THAT HE WAS THE CREATOR OF THIS MIGHTY MONOLITH? MELINDA HARTWIG FINDS A CLUE
STANDING IN FRONT OF THE SPHINX BETWEEN ITS PAWS. IT'S A GIANT STONE TABLET,
OR STELA. Hartwig:
THIS IS AN AMAZING STELA THAT IS THE FIRST MENTION
OF THE SPHINX. AT THE TOP OF THE STELA, WE HAVE
TWO IMAGES OF THUTMOSE IV. AND IN ONE SIDE HE'S ACTUALLY
INCENSING THE SPHINX, AND THE OTHER ONE
HE'S GIVING WATER OFFERINGS. SO THE SPHINX IS CROUCHED
ON THIS PLINTH RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. Narrator: CARVED ON THE TABLET
IS A LEGEND RECORDED BY THUTMOSE RECOUNTING AN INCIDENT
FROM HIS YOUTH WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG PRINCE. ON A HUNTING EXPEDITION, THE YOUNG THUTMOSE
CAME ACROSS THE SPHINX, BURIED UP TO ITS NECK
IN DESERT SAND. EXHAUSTED BY THE MIDDAY SUN, THUTMOSE LAY DOWN IN THE SHADE
OF THE GIANT STATUE. ACCORDING TO THE STORY
CARVED INTO THE TABLET, AS HE SLEPT, THE SPHINX SPOKE
TO THE YOUNG PRINCE IN A DREAM. Hartwig:
SO WE KNOW AT THIS POINT NOW THAT THE SAND WAS COVERING
THE SPHINX. AND IN THIS DREAM, THE SPHINX
CAME TO HIM, AND HE SAID, "IF YOU WOULD CLEAR AWAY
THE SANDS FROM MY BODY, I WILL MAKE YOU KING." AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE DID. AND THUTMOSE IV BECAME KING, AND HE COMMEMORATED
THAT VERY EVENT IN THIS STELA THAT WE CALL
THE DREAM STELA. Narrator: THUTMOSE HAD NOT
EXPECTED TO BECOME KING. BUT WHEN HIS OLDER BROTHER DIED
SOON AFTER, HE TOOK THE THRONE, AND ANNOUNCED THAT THE SPHINX
HAD KEPT ITS WORD. SO THUTMOSE DIDN'T
BUILD THE SPHINX. BY THE TIME HE CAME TO POWER
IT WAS ALREADY A RUIN. HE DUG IT FROM THE SAND
AND BUILT THE WALLS SO IT WOULDN'T GET BURIED AGAIN. IT'S POSSIBLE THAT
WITHOUT THUTMOSE THE SPHINX MIGHT HAVE
BEEN FORGOTTEN. BUT GENERATIONS THAT CAME AFTER
FOLLOWED HIS LEAD, SEEKING THE SPHINX'S BLESSING AND TURNING IT INTO
A FULL-BLOWN TOURIST ATTRACTION. Hartwig: WITH THUTMOSE IV, THE CULT OF THE SPHINX
JUST EXPLODES. Narrator: FROM THE TIME OF
THUTMOSE ONWARDS, THE SPHINX BECAME
A PLACE OF PILGRIMAGE. THE EGYPTIANS BELIEVED THAT
WORSHIPPING THE MIGHTY STATUE COULD BRING HEALTH
AND GOOD FORTUNE. Hartwig: PEOPLE WOULD COME FROM
MEMPHIS, THE CAPITAL CITY, THEY WOULD COME FROM
ALL OVER EGYPT, AND THEY WOULD COME TO
THE SPHINX AND LEAVE GIFTS. Narrator: THE EGYPTIANS OF
THUTMOSE'S DAY CALLED THE SPHINX HOR-EM-AKHET,
GOD OF THE SKY. Hartwig: THIS WAS A POPULAR
SORT OF PILGRIMAGE ROUTE. AND TOURISTS COME AND
THEY ACTUALLY LEAVE STATEMENTS SAYING, "I CAME, I VISITED,
AND IT WAS WONDERFUL!" Narrator: THE SPHINX BECAME
SO POPULAR THAT EVEN THUTMOSE'S
GREAT GRANDSON KING TUTANKHAMUN BUILT A PALACE HERE. SO WE KNOW THAT 3,500 YEARS AGO THE SPHINX PLAYED A HUGE ROLE
IN THE EGYPTIAN WORLD. BUT THE QUESTION REMAINS,
WHO BUILT IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND WHY? THE GREAT SPHINX IS THE BIGGEST
STATUE OF ITS KIND IN THE WORLD. BUT TRY TO DECODE ITS SECRETS, AND THERE'S VERY LITTLE
TO GO ON. NO MAKER'S MARK. NO RECORD OF WHEN IT WAS BUILT,
OR WHO DID IT. SO THE EXPERTS MUST READ
THE CLUES IN THE LANDSCAPE. AT FIRST GLANCE,
IT SEEMS OBVIOUS TO LINK THE SPHINX TO
THE MAN-MADE MOUNTAINS THAT TOWER OVER IT--
THE PYRAMIDS. THE PYRAMIDS WE CAN DATE. THEY WERE BUILT OVER 1,000 YEARS
BEFORE THUTMOSE'S TIME, AROUND 2500 BC. THE PYRAMID OF
THE PHARAOH KHAFRE LIES DIRECTLY BEHIND THE SPHINX. AND FOR THIS REASON,
MANY ARGUE IT MUST BE HIS WORK. BUT PROVING THE CONNECTION
BETWEEN THE TWO HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PROBLEM. THERE'S NO TEST TO DETERMINE
WHEN THE SPHINX WAS MADE, BECAUSE IT'S CARVED DIRECTLY
FROM THE BEDROCK. SO NOW EXPERTS FROM OUTSIDE
THE WORLD OF EGYPTOLOGY ARE CHALLENGING THE VIEW
THAT KHAFRE BUILT THE SPHINX. GEOLOGIST COLIN READER
IS ONE OF THEM. HE BELIEVES THE SPHINX IS
OLDER THAN THE PYRAMIDS. LOOKING AT THE WALLS OF
THE SPHINX ENCLOSURE, THE CLUES ARE WRITTEN IN STONE. Colin Reader: THE FIRST THING
THAT STRUCK ME WHEN I GOT HERE WAS THERE ARE SOME VERY
PARTICULAR PATTERNS OF EROSION, AND ONLY ON THE WALLS. WE'VE GOT THESE
ROUNDED FEATURES. YOU CAN SEE
A GREAT EXAMPLE HERE. THIS PIECE OF LIMESTONE, IT'S GOT THIS HEAVY,
ROUNDED APPEARANCE. IT'S DEFINED BY THESE JOINTS. AND ALL ALONG YOU GET
THIS SEQUENCE OF HEAVILY ERODED JOINTS
WITH THE ROCK BETWEEN THEM, TAKING ON THIS VERY BULBOUS,
ROUNDED APPEARANCE, SMOOTH AT THE TOP,
ROUGH AT THE BOTTOM. FOR ME, IT WAS ONLY ONE THING
THAT HAD CAUSED THIS, AND THAT WAS FLOWING WATER. Narrator: THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO THE ENVIRONMENT IN
THIS PART OF EGYPT WAS MUCH WETTER
THAN IT IS TODAY. HEAVY RAINS ACCOMPANIED BY
FLASH FLOODS WERE MORE COMMON. AND THE WATER HAD
TO GO SOMEWHERE. Reader: WHEN YOU LOOK
AT THE LANDSCAPE THAT THE SPHINX SITS IN,
WE'RE LOOKING UP A HILL. THE GROUND LEVELS
FROM THIS POINT RISE, THEY RISE BEYOND THE PYRAMIDS. AND OVER A ROCKY PLATEAU
LIKE THIS, WHEN IT RAINS HEAVILY, YOU GET
SURPLUS WATER RUNNING OFF AND CASCADING DOWN THE PLATEAU
AND INTO THE SPHINX ENCLOSURE. Narrator: ON THEIR OWN,
THESE FINDINGS PROVE NOTHING. BUT THEIR SIGNIFICANCE
BECOMES CLEAR WHEN READER PUTS THEM TOGETHER
WITH ANOTHER PIECE OF EVIDENCE IN THE TERRAIN
UPHILL FROM THE SPHINX. TO BUILD THEIR PYRAMIDS, THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS DUG OUT
MILLIONS OF STONE BLOCKS FROM A HUGE QUARRY. AND TO READER, THE LOCATION OF
THE QUARRY IS A MAJOR CLUE. Reader: AT THE TIME
OF THE PYRAMIDS, JUST THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS
MOUND WAS A HUGE BASIN QUARRY THAT WAS EXCAVATED FOR THE STONE
TO BUILD THE PYRAMIDS. AND WATER COMING OFF THE HIGH
GROUND FURTHER IN THAT DIRECTION WILL HAVE DISCHARGED
INTO THE QUARRY, AND IT WON'T HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO REACH THE SPHINX. Narrator: READER'S THEORY SAYS
THAT IF THE PYRAMIDS, AND THEREFORE THE QUARRY,
CAME FIRST, THEN ANY FLOOD WATER
WOULD HAVE DRAINED AWAY BEFORE IT HIT
THE ENCLOSURE WALLS. THIS DAMAGE WOULDN'T BE HERE. FOR READER, THAT LEADS TO
ONE STARTLING CONCLUSION. Reader: 'CAUSE IF THE SPHINX WAS
THERE AFTER QUARRYING BEGAN, RUNOFF WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN
ABLE TO REACH THE SPHINX. YOU WOULDN'T HAVE GOT THESE
FEATURES OF WATER EROSION ON THE WALLS OF THE ENCLOSURE. THESE FEATURES
HAVE TO HAVE FORMED BEFORE THE QUARRIES WERE WORKED. AND WHAT THIS MEANS TO ME IN
TERMS OF THE AGE OF THE SPHINX IS THAT THE SPHINX HAS TO
HAVE BEEN PRESENT AT GIZA BEFORE THE PYRAMIDS WERE BUILT. Narrator: COULD THE SPHINX
REALLY HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE THE PYRAMIDS? PERHAPS IT WAS THIS STATUE
THAT DREW THE PHARAOHS TO BUILD THEIR PYRAMIDS HERE
IN A LATER TIME. THAT WOULD MAKE THE SPHINX
MORE THAN 4,700 YEARS OLD. READER'S THEORY IS
CONTROVERSIAL. BUT HE DOESN'T STOP THERE. HE'S GOING BACK TO
BASIC PRINCIPLES. AND HE'S COME UP WITH
A STRIKING LINE OF INQUIRY. Reader: WHEN YOU STAND
AND LOOK AT THE SPHINX FROM THIS DIRECTION,
THE PROPORTION'S WRONG. AND YET THE HEAD OF THE SPHINX, WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT
FROM THIS DIRECTION, PARTICULARLY, IT'S TOO SMALL. THE BODY IS LONG, IT'S TALL, AND THE HEAD IS QUITE
OUT OF PROPORTION. FOR THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS TO HAVE GOT THE PROPORTIONS
SO WRONG DOESN'T SEEM TO MAKE SENSE. THEY WERE MASTERS
AT WORKING STONE. THERE'S SOMETHING
WE MUST BE MISSING WITH THIS. THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER PIECE
OF THE JIGSAW. Narrator: AND THE ANSWER LIES
IN THE STONE ITSELF. Reader: WE KNOW FOR
MOST OF ITS LIFE THAT THE SPHINX HAS BEEN BURIED UP TO THE SHOULDERS,
THE NECK IN SAND. I'VE SEEN OTHER PLACES AT GIZA
WHERE SAND TENDS TO PROTECT THE ROCKS THAT ARE
BURIED BENEATH IT. THE HEAD'S BEEN EXPOSED FOR ALMOST THE ENTIRE LIFE
OF THE SPHINX. IT'S BEEN EXPOSED TO WINDBLOWN
SAND, THE EFFECT OF THE SUN. IF ANYTHING, THE HEAD SHOULD BE
MORE DEGRADED THAN THE BODY, BUT WE SEE THE REVERSE. FOR ME, THERE'S ONLY ONE REAL
EXPLANATION FOR THAT, AND THAT'S THAT THE HEAD
HAS BEEN RECUT. AT A LATER STAGE,
WHATEVER WAS THERE ORIGINALLY WAS RETRIMMED, REPROFILED
TO GIVE US THIS PHARAOH'S HEAD. THE INESCAPABLE CONCLUSION
FROM THAT IS THAT ORIGINALLY
THIS WASN'T A SPHINX AT ALL. IT STARTED LIFE AS
SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Narrator: FOR READER,
THE SPHINX IS NOT ONLY MUCH OLDER THAN THE PYRAMIDS, IT ALSO STARTED OUT
LOOKING VERY DIFFERENT. THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, THE
CLIMATE HERE WAS MUCH WETTER, AND THERE WERE GREATER NUMBERS
OF WILD ANIMALS. THE TOP PREDATOR HERE, AND THE ANIMAL THAT
THE EGYPTIANS MOST REVERED, WAS THE LION. Salima Ikram: LIONS WERE
VERY IMPORTANT SYMBOLS, BECAUSE THEY ARE THE LOUDEST
AND THE GREATEST CREATURES, SO, OF COURSE, THEY ARE KINGLY. THEY HAVE PRIDES, SO THAT
THE LION, LIKE THE KING, LOOKS AFTER PEOPLE. THEY ARE POWERFUL, SCARY AND
HAVE BIG TEETH AND CLAWS. THE KING'S THRONE HAD LION HEADS
ON EITHER SIDE, THE KING'S BED HAD LIONS ON IT. EVEN RAMSES II HAD PET LIONS WHO
WENT IN WITH HIM INTO BATTLE. Narrator: COLIN READER HAS
DISCOVERED A SACRED CARVING OF A LION ON A STONE TABLET, CREATED MANY DECADES
BEFORE THE PYRAMIDS. LIKE MANY EARLY EGYPTIAN
LION STATUES, IT'S A FEMALE. AND READER THINKS
IT'S AN IMPORTANT CLUE. Reader: TRYING TO FIND OUT
THE ORIGINS OF THE SPHINX, I LOOKED FOR EARLY EXAMPLES OF
LIONS, AND I CAME ACROSS THIS. THIS IS AN IMAGE FROM A TIME BEFORE THE TIMES OF
THE PYRAMIDS AT GIZA. AND WE KNOW IT'S IMPORTANT, AND WE KNOW IT'S CONNECTED
SOMEHOW WITH PHARAOH, BECAUSE AS WELL AS THE LION, WE'VE GOT A CARVING
OF A PHARAOH'S NAME ON THE SAME STONE. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LION
FOR ME WAS THAT WHEN YOU CONSIDER
THAT PROFILE IN COMPARISON WITH THE PROFILE
OF THE SPHINX, SUDDENLY IT ALL SEEMED
TO MAKE SOME SENSE. AND YOU OVERLAY IT ON
THE PROFILE OF THE SPHINX, EVERYTHING SEEMS
TO DROP INTO PLACE. IT'S QUITE CLEAR TO ME THAT
WHEN THIS WAS FIRST BUILT, IT WAS BUILT AS A LION. Narrator: READER'S THEORY
SOUNDS FAR-FETCHED. BUT IS IT? THIS STATUE IN CAIRO'S MUSEUM IS THE OLDEST EGYPTIAN SPHINX
EVER FOUND. IT SHOWS CLEAR SIGNS OF DAMAGE
AROUND THE NECK AND HEAD, SUGGESTING THAT A LION'S EARS
WERE HACKED AWAY, AND THE STONE RESHAPED
TO MAKE A HUMAN HEAD. PERHAPS THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED
ON A MUCH LARGER SCALE WITH THE GREAT SPHINX AT GIZA. BUT OTHER EXPERTS, LIKE
EGYPTOLOGIST PETER LACOVARA, DISAGREE. Peter Lacovara: IF THERE
HAD BEEN AN EARLIER DATE TO THE SPHINX, IF IT HAD BEEN
MADE IN AN EARLIER PERIOD, WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE MONUMENTS
OF EARLIER KINGS ASSOCIATED WITH IT, EVIDENCE OF WHERE
THE BUILDERS LIVED, EVIDENCE OF THEIR TOOLS. NONE OF THAT EXISTS, SO IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE
AN EARLIER STRUCTURE. Narrator: WHATEVER THE TRUTH,
ONE THING IS BEYOND DISPUTE-- SOMEBODY AT SOME STAGE ORDERED
THIS VAST PIECE OF ROCK TO BE CARVED INTO THE SHAPE
OF A HUMAN HEAD. WHAT KIND OF PERSON WOULD SEEK
TO BE IMMORTALIZED IN THIS WAY? AND CAN WE PUT A NAME TO HIM? WHOEVER CARVED THE SPHINX'S FACE HAD WEALTH AND POWER
AND A MONUMENTAL EGO, JUST LIKE THE MEN WHO
BUILT THESE PYRAMIDS. THE PYRAMID DIRECTLY
BEHIND THE SPHINX WAS BUILT BY THE PHARAOH KHAFRE. HE ALSO BUILT
THE TWO TEMPLES NEARBY. SO EXPERTS THINK THAT KHAFRE
IS THE MOST LIKELY CANDIDATE. Lacovara: SO THE SPHINX LINKS UP TO ALL OF THESE MONUMENTS OF
KHAFRE, THE TEMPLE, THE PYRAMID. SO THE SPHINX SORT OF
STANDS HERE AS A GUARDIAN TO ALL THESE MONUMENTS
OF KHAFRE. Narrator:
BUT THAT ALONE ISN'T PROOF. THIS AREA IS PACKED WITH
TEMPLES, TOMBS AND MONUMENTS. SOME EXPERTS POINT THE FINGER
IN ANOTHER DIRECTION, TO THE BUILDER OF
ANOTHER GREAT PYRAMID, WHICH LIES CLOSE TO THE SPHINX. IT WAS BUILT BY
THE FATHER OF KHAFRE. HIS NAME WAS KHUFU. KHUFU WAS THE FIRST PHARAOH
TO BUILD A PYRAMID AT GIZA. AND IF ANY MAN WAS CAPABLE OF
THINKING BIG, IT WAS THIS GUY. Hartwig: KHUFU WAS
AN AMAZING INNOVATOR. YOU CAN'T UNDERESTIMATE
WHAT HE DID, BECAUSE, ESSENTIALLY, HE COMES
TO A VAST, DESOLATE PLACE, WHICH IS THE GIZA PLATEAU, AND HE BUILDS EGYPT'S
LARGEST PYRAMID. Narrator: AT 483 FEET HIGH, AND BUILT FROM 2.3 MILLION
BLOCKS OF STONE WEIGHING OVER TWO TONS EACH, KHUFU'S MAN-MADE MOUNTAIN
TOOK 30 YEARS TO BUILD AND WAS THE TALLEST STRUCTURE
IN THE WORLD. IT PROVIDED KHUFU WITH THE MOST
MAGNIFICENT TOMB OF ALL TIME. IT ALSO SENT A POWERFUL MESSAGE. Hartwig: NOTHING LIKE THIS
HAD EVER APPEARED ON THE LANDSCAPE BEFORE. THIS PYRAMID WAS BUILT AS A TYPE
OF PROPAGANDISTIC STATEMENT. THIS IS THE POWER
OF THE PHARAOH. Narrator: SO MAYBE KHUFU
COULD HAVE BUILT THE SPHINX. HAVING CHANGED THE FACE OF
EGYPT, WHY NOT GO FOR BROKE? HIS FACE, THERE FOR ALL TO SEE,
FOR ALL TIME. HISTORY PAINTS KHUFU
AS A FEARED DICTATOR, AN OBSESSIVE WHO ALMOST
BROKE HIS PEOPLE IN THE BUILDING OF HIS PYRAMID. THIS WAY, THE THEORY GOES, HE WOULD ALWAYS BE
WATCHING OVER THEM. Hartwig: THIS IS
THE TYPE OF PHARAOH THAT WOULD HAVE WANTED TO PUT
HIS MARK ON THE LANDSCAPE, NOT ONLY IN TERMS
OF THIS PYRAMID, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF THE SPHINX. NOT UNLIKE WHAT WE SEE TODAY WITH, SAY, LARGE STATUES
OF DICTATORS WHO REALLY WANT TO
SORT OF COMMAND THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE,
THE MINDS OF THE PEOPLE, AS WELL AS THE LANDSCAPE. Narrator: DR. MELINDA HARTWIG IS
IN THE KHUFU CAMP OF BELIEF THAT IT WAS HE WHO BUILT THE
SPHINX AND NOT HIS SON KHAFRE. AND SHE IS SEARCHING
FOR EVIDENCE IN THE LAYOUT OF THE SITE
TO SUPPORT HER THEORY. Hartwig: TODAY,
THIS IS THE APPROACH THAT MOST TOURISTS WOULD TAKE. HERE'S THE SPHINX IN FRONT US WITH THE PYRAMID OF KHAFRE
BEHIND. HOWEVER, THEY'D BE COMING
FROM CAIRO. THIS WASN'T HOW PEOPLE SAW IT
IN THE ANCIENT WORLD. THEY WOULD HAVE SEEN IT
SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY, BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN
COMING FROM THE SOUTH. Narrator: TODAY, VISITORS COME
FROM CAIRO, TO THE NORTHEAST. BUT THE ANCIENT CAPITAL
OF MEMPHIS LAY IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. MEANING THE PEOPLE OF KHUFU'S
TIME SAW THINGS DIFFERENTLY. Hartwig: VISITORS WOULD HAVE
BEEN COMING FROM MEMPHIS, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN
COMING FROM THE SOUTH. AND SO THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN
THE FIRST THING THAT THEY SAW, THEY WOULD SEE
THE SPHINX IN PROFILE AND THEY WOULD SEE THE PYRAMID
OF KHUFU, NOT KHAFRE. BY SEEING THE SPHINX IN PROFILE
AND THE PYRAMID OF KHUFU BEHIND, YOU HAVE A SENSE OF
A TWO-DIMENSIONAL RENDERING, WHICH WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Narrator: THE EGYPTIANS
LOVED A PROFILE, AND NOT ONLY IN THEIR CARVINGS
AND PAINTINGS. EVEN SOME OF THEIR SCULPTURES
WERE DESIGNED TO BE VIEWED FROM SIDEWAYS-ON. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS
AS AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN, IT APPEARS AS IF THE SPHINX
IS GUARDING KHUFU'S TOMB. AND THAT'S NOT ALL. DR. HARTWIG TURNS HER ATTENTION
TO THE MONUMENTS OF KHAFRE, KHUFU'S SON, AND THE MAN ASSUMED
TO HAVE BUILT THE SPHINX. KHAFRE'S PYRAMID LIES DIRECTLY
BEHIND THE SPHINX. BUT HARTWIG FINDS A CLUE IN
THE LAYOUT OF THE CAUSEWAY THAT LEADS FROM KHAFRE'S PYRAMID
DOWN TO HIS TEMPLE. Hartwig: SO HERE IS
KHAFRE'S CAUSEWAY. NOW THIS IS WHERE
THE BODY OF THE KING WOULD HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP AND THEN BURIED INSIDE
OF THE PYRAMID. BUT WHEN YOU ANALYZE
THE POSITION, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S
JUST NOT QUITE RIGHT. YOU WOULD EXPECT THE CAUSEWAY
TO COME RIGHT DOWN HERE, LIKE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME,
AND THEN HEAD DUE EAST. BUT INSTEAD, IT SWERVES. Narrator: TRADITIONALLY,
THE CEREMONIAL PATH LEADING TO A PHARAOH'S PYRAMID
RUNS DUE EAST, IN A STRAIGHT LINE. NOT THIS ONE. KHAFRE'S CAUSEWAY IS
SET AT AN ANGLE. AND IT APPEARS TO GO
AROUND THE SPHINX. Hartwig:
IT SWERVES, IT'S OVER HERE. AND IT SWERVES TO
AVOID SOMETHING, AND THAT THING IS THE SPHINX, WHICH MEANS THAT THE SPHINX
EXISTED THERE ALREADY BEFORE KHAFRE. Narrator: IF THE SPHINX
WAS ALREADY HERE, THEN THAT POINTS TO IT
BEING KHUFU'S CREATION. TO CONFIRM THE THEORY,
HARTWIG LEAVES THE GIZA PLATEAU. SHE'S COME TO THE ONLY
PLACE IN THE WORLD WHERE THERE'S A CONFIRMED
LIKENESS OF KHUFU-- THE CAIRO MUSEUM. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN
WE COMPARE THAT IMAGE TO THE FACE OF THE SPHINX? Hartwig: WHEN WE LOOK AT
THE FACE OF KHUFU, HE HAS VERY BROAD PLANES
TO HIS FACE. HIS EARS ARE PUSHED FORWARD. HE HAS DEEP-SET EYES. THESE ARE THE SAME FEATURES
THAT WE SEE ON THE SPHINX. SO IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE
THAT THE SPHINX IS KHUFU. Narrator: THERE SEEMS TO BE
A RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE TWO. AND THERE'S ANOTHER CLUE HERE. IN EVERY KNOWN STATUE OF KHAFRE, HE'S SHOWN WEARING
A CEREMONIAL BEARD. BUT THE SPHINX DOESN'T
HAVE A BEARD... AND NEITHER DOES
THIS STATUE OF KHUFU. THERE'S ONLY ONE PROBLEM. THIS STATUE IS LESS THAN
FOUR INCHES TALL. Hartwig:
IN GETTING A POSITIVE I.D., OF COURSE, YOU NEED MORE THAN
JUST THIS SMALL, LITTLE STATUE. IT'S SUCH A TINY THING TO
COMPARE AGAINST SOMETHING AS MASSIVE AS THE SPHINX. IN THE END, THERE IS
SO LITTLE EVIDENCE THAT WE CAN BE ABSOLUTELY SURE
OF WHOSE FACE IS ON THE SPHINX. Narrator: IT SEEMS LIKELY
THE SPHINX WAS BUILT BY ONE OF THE PHARAOHS
THAT BUILT THESE PYRAMIDS. THERE'S KHUFU,
BUILDER OF THE GREAT PYRAMID, WITH UNPARALLELED POWER
AND AMBITION. AND THERE'S HIS SON KHAFRE,
WHOSE PYRAMID STANDS CLOSE BY. BUT THERE'S ALSO ANOTHER
FAMILY MEMBER IN THE FRAME. KHUFU HAD AN OLDER SON WHO CAME
TO THE THRONE BEFORE KHAFRE. HIS NAME WAS DJEDEFRE. FOR MANY YEARS EXPERTS
RULED OUT DJEDEFRE AS THE CREATOR OF THE SPHINX, BECAUSE HE WAS THOUGHT TO HAVE
BEEN AN OUTCAST FROM THE FAMILY. RUMOR HAD IT DJEDEFRE MURDERED
HIS OLDER BROTHER KAWAB TO SEIZE THE THRONE. AND THE MURDER CAUSED
A RIFT IN THE FAMILY. AS AN OUTCAST, HE SURELY COULD
NOT HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR BUILDING THE GREAT SPHINX. BUT BACK ON THE GIZA PLATEAU,
AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY HAS TURNED THE RUMOR
ON ITS HEAD. THIS IS THE SOLAR BOAT OF KHUFU, ONE OF THE OLDEST AND
BEST-PRESERVED SHIPS FROM ANTIQUITY. AND EGYPTOLOGIST SALIMA IKRAM
HAS A THEORY THIS BOAT PUTS KHUFU'S SON
DJEDEFRE RIGHT BACK IN THE FRAME AS THE POSSIBLE BUILDER
OF THE GREAT SPHINX. Ikram: KHUFU'S BOAT IS ONE OF
THE MOST ASTONISHING ARTIFACTS EVER FOUND IN EGYPT. TO IMAGINE THAT
THIS HAD BEEN USED BY KHUFU ACTUALLY
DURING HIS LIFETIME, YOU SEE IT NOW IN
ALL OF ITS SPLENDOR. BUT, IN FACT, IT WAS FOUND
IN THOUSANDS OF LITTLE PIECES IN A PIT NEXT TO HIS PYRAMID. AND KHUFU ACTUALLY USED IT
DURING HIS LIFETIME. HE PROBABLY SAT THERE AND HAD
LOTS OF PEOPLE ROW HIM ABOUT. AND THEN UPON HIS DEATH
THEY TOOK IT APART AND BROUGHT ALL THE PIECES
UP HIGH TO THE GIZA PLATEAU AND BURIED IT HERE WITH HIM. Narrator:
TO THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS, FUNERARY OFFERINGS LIKE THIS
WERE OF CRUCIAL IMPORTANCE. THEY BELIEVED THAT
WHEN THE PHARAOH DIED HE NEEDED A BOAT TO
TRANSPORT HIM TO THE AFTERLIFE AND ENSURE EGYPT'S
CONTINUED EXISTENCE. Ikram: THE EGYPTIANS BELIEVED THAT DURING THE COURSE
OF THE DAY, THE SUN TRAVELED ACROSS THE SKY
WITH THE KING IN IT. AT NIGHT IT WOULD GO THROUGH
SORT OF A DARK SPACE WHICH IT WOULD ILLUMINATE, FIGHTING OFF ALL KINDS OF
DEMONS AND BEASTIES THAT WANTED TO EAT IT UP. AND THEREFORE,
THE DAY COULD RISE AGAIN. AND SO YOU HAVE
THIS CONTINUOUS CYCLE. SO THIS BOAT WAS
ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL, BECAUSE WITH IT, HE WAS MAKING
SURE THAT THE SUN ROSE AND SET AND THAT THE COSMOS CONTINUED
AND THAT EGYPT SURVIVED. Narrator: SO WAS THIS
MAGNIFICENT BOAT OFFERING THE WORK OF KHUFU HIMSELF? SALIMA IKRAM VENTURES INTO
THE PIT WHERE THE BOAT WAS FOUND IN SEARCH OF CLUES AS TO
WHO PLACED IT THERE. AND SHE'S NOT DISAPPOINTED! Ikram: WE HAD ALWAYS ASSUMED
THAT KHUFU HAD THIS BOAT PIT BUILT FOR HIMSELF. WHAT'S TERRIBLY EXCITING HERE
IN THIS KHUFU'S BOAT PIT IS YOU HAVE THE NAME OF HIS SON
DJEDEFRE IN A CARTOUCHE THERE, AND ANOTHER ONE THERE. SO THIS MEANS THAT KHUFU
DIDN'T BUILD THIS. THIS WAS ACTUALLY CONSTRUCTED
BY KING DJEDEFRE FOR HIS FATHER KHUFU. AND SO THIS REALLY CHANGES HOW WE THINK OF
DJEDEFRE'S LEGITIMACY. Narrator: HERE IS THE PROOF THAT DJEDFERE WAS CLOSE
TO HIS FATHER KHUFU AND PLAYED A LEADING ROLE
IN HIS FATHER'S FUNERAL AT GIZA. FAR FROM BEING A BLACK SHEEP, DJEDEFRE IS STARTING TO LOOK
LIKE A DOTING SON. BY HONORING KHUFU IN THIS LAVISH
SHOW OF EXTRAVAGANCE, DJEDEFRE NOT ONLY SHOWED
HIS LOYALTY, BUT ALSO STRENGTHENED
HIS GRIP ON POWER. AND IF DJEDEFRE WAS WILLING
TO GO TO ANY LENGTHS TO HONOR HIS FATHER, COULD HE ALSO HAVE BUILT THE
SPHINX IN HIS FATHER'S IMAGE? Ikram: DJEDEFRE IS
A VERY GOOD CONTENDER. HE DID OTHER WORK ON
THE GIZA PLATEAU, LIKE CONSTRUCTING THE SOLAR
BOAT PIT FOR HIS FATHER KHUFU. AND IN FACT,
BY DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS OR BY CONSTRUCTING
THE GREAT SPHINX, WE CAN SEE THAT HE IS TRYING
TO BE LEGITIMIZED. Narrator: WE NOW HAVE FOUR
COMPETING THEORIES. WAS THE SPHINX CARVED BEFORE THE
PYRAMIDS IN THE FORM OF A LION? WAS IT THE WORK OF
THE PHARAOH KHAFRE? HIS FATHER KHUFU? OR KHUFU'S OLDER SON DJEDEFRE? TO GET TO THE TRUTH,
THE EXPERTS NEED TO GO DEEPER INTO THE ANCIENT ROCK
OF THE GIZA PLATEAU AND THE EPIC MONUMENTS
OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. THE INVESTIGATION INTO
WHO BUILT THE GREAT SPHINX HAS PRODUCED FOUR LINES
OF INQUIRY. DID IT START OUT AS A LION? WAS IT THE WORK OF THE POWERFUL
DICTATOR, PHARAOH KHUFU? DID KHUFU'S SON DJEDEFRE
HAVE THE SPHINX CARVED TO STRENGTHEN HIS CLAIM
TO THE THRONE? OR WAS IT THE WORK OF
KHUFU'S YOUNGER SON, KHAFRE, WHOSE PYRAMID LIES DIRECTLY
BEHIND THE SPHINX? DR. PETER LACOVARA HAS DECIDED
TO EXPLORE KHAFRE'S CAUSEWAY. IT'S A RAISED PATH THAT
STILL EXISTS TODAY, PASSING RIGHT BESIDE
THE SPHINX ENCLOSURE AND RUNNING UPHILL
TO KHAFRE'S PYRAMID. Lacovara: WE ARE LOOKING UP
AT THE CAUSEWAY THAT RUNS FROM THE PYRAMID
ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE TEMPLE. Narrator: AT THE CORNER OF
THE SPHINX ENCLOSURE, LACOVARA HAS FOUND AN IMPORTANT
PIECE OF EVIDENCE LEFT BEHIND BY
KHAFRE'S BUILDERS. Lacovara:
WHAT'S REALLY INTERESTING IS YOU CAN SEE
UP HERE IN THE CORNER THERE'S A CUT THAT'S BEEN
FILLED IN BY MODERN BLOCKS. AND WE THINK THERE WAS
A DRAINAGE DITCH THAT SIPHONED WATER OFF
FROM THE CAUSEWAY DOWN INTO THIS BIG DEPRESSION
WHERE THE QUARRY WAS, AND WOULD HAVE AND FLOODED
THIS AREA WHEN IT DID RAIN. Narrator: THE PURPOSE OF
KHAFRE'S DRAINAGE CHANNEL WAS TO PREVENT HIS CAUSEWAY
FROM FLOODING, BY DRAINING OFF RAINWATER
INTO THE AREA WHERE THE SPHINX SITS TODAY. LACOVARA BELIEVES
THIS IS EVIDENCE THE SPHINX DIDN'T EXIST
BEFORE KHAFRE. Lacovara: CLEARLY,
IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE THAT IF THIS HAD
ALREADY EXISTED, IF THE SPHINX HAD BEEN
BUILT, SAY, BY KHUFU, THEY WOULDN'T BE FLOODING
THIS AREA WITH WATER. THERE WOULD BE NO REASON
TO BE POURING WATER INTO THIS GREAT MONUMENT. SO IT SEEMS CLEAR THAT
THAT IS EVIDENCE THAT THIS SPHINX WAS MADE BY
KHAFRE, AND LATE IN HIS REIGN. Narrator: IF LACOVARA IS RIGHT, THEN WHEN KHAFRE
CAME TO THE THRONE, THIS AREA WAS NOTHING MORE
THAN A PIT USED FOR COLLECTING
EXCESS RAINWATER. THE SPHINX HADN'T YET BEEN
CARVED FROM THE STONE. BUT LACOVARA IS FRUSTRATED BY
THE LACK OF HARD EVIDENCE. Lacovara: WE KNOW VERY LITTLE
AS FAR AS WRITTEN RECORD GOES. IT'S SUCH A REMOTE PERIOD. THERE ARE NO RECORDS,
NOTHING SURVIVES, THERE'S NO INSCRIPTIONS, NOTHING SPECIFICALLY TO POINT
TO WHEN IT WAS MADE AND WHO MADE IT. Narrator: UNLIKE THE PYRAMIDS, THE SPHINX WASN'T BUILT OUT OF
BLOCKS HAULED TO THE LOCATION. IT WAS CARVED RIGHT OUT OF
THE BEDROCK IN A SINGLE PIECE. SO LACOVARA IS GOING RIGHT BACK
TO THE BEGINNING. IF THE SPHINX STARTED OUT AS
A LUMP OF ROCK IN A QUARRY, HE WANTS TO EXPLORE, STEP BY
STEP, JUST HOW IT WAS CREATED. AND AT ANOTHER SITE
CLOSE TO THE SPHINX, HE FINDS A CLUE FROZEN
INTO THE STONE. Lacovara: THE AREA
AROUND THE SPHINX WOULD HAVE ORIGINALLY
LOOKED SOMETHING LIKE THIS. IT'S GREAT,
'CAUSE YOU CAN KIND OF SEE IT'S A MOMENT FROZEN IN TIME. SO YOU CAN SEE HOW THEY
ACTUALLY WORKED HERE. YOU CAN IMAGINE HUNDREDS
AND HUNDREDS OF WORKMEN JUST LINED UP HERE POUNDING AWAY AT THIS STONE JUST
IN LINES, ONE AFTER THE OTHER, REALLY A MACHINE
SMASHING THESE BLOCKS, SMASHING THESE CHANNELS
OUT OF THE ROCK, CREATING THESE CHANNELS IN ORDER
TO FREE THEM FROM THE BEDROCK, AND THEN MOVE THEM OFF
TO GO BUILD THE PYRAMIDS AND THE TEMPLES
HERE AT GIZA. Narrator: SO WHOEVER IT WAS
THAT BUILT THE SPHINX STARTED BY REMOVING
THOUSANDS OF TONS OF ROCK FROM THE DESERT FLOOR IN THE
FORM OF HUGE, MULTITON BLOCKS. THE LUMP OF ROCK LEFT BEHIND WAS THEN CARVED INTO
THE SHAPE OF THE SPHINX. BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT EVIDENCE IS HIDDEN UNDERNEATH
THE SURFACE OF THE SPHINX. IT'S IN THE COMPOSITION
OF THE ROCK ITSELF. Lacovara: IF YOU LOOK, THE LIMESTONE IS LAYERED
LIKE A LAYER CAKE. AND SOME LAYERS WERE
SOFTER THAN OTHERS DEPENDING ON WHAT WAS IN THEM. AND SO THEY'VE ERODED MORE THAN
THE LAYERS ABOVE AND BELOW THEM. AND THIS KIND OF VERY
DISTINCTIVE PATTERNING THAT WE SEE HERE, WE ALSO CAN SEE IN THE WALLS
OF THE QUARRY OVER THERE. Narrator: LACOVARA HAS
IDENTIFIED A TELLTALE PATTERN IN THE LIMESTONE. MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO, THE GIZA
PLATEAU WAS UNDER THE SEA. ON THE SEAFLOOR,
THE COMPRESSED REMAINS OF BILLIONS OF MARINE CREATURES,
LAYER UPON LAYER, GRADUALLY FORMED INTO
THE ROCK WE SEE TODAY. DEPENDING ON THEIR PRECISE
COMPOSITION, SOME LAYERS ARE HARDER
AND MORE DURABLE THAN OTHERS, AND THAT LEAVES A UNIQUE PATTERN
OF WEATHERING RUNNING THROUGH THE ROCK
OF THE SPHINX TODAY. LACOVARA DECIDES TO SEARCH
FOR THAT SAME PATTERN. WHEN HE GOES TO THE TEMPLE
BUILT BY KHAFRE IN FRONT OF THE SPHINX, HE SEES EXACTLY THE SAME
SEQUENCE OF SOFT AND HARD ROCK. THE GROOVES IN THE WALLS
OF THE TEMPLE AND THE GROOVES ON
THE SPHINX MATCH. Lacovara: IT'S INCREDIBLE. YOU CAN SEE HERE WHERE WE HAVE THIS DIFFERENTIAL
PATTERN OF WEAR. HERE'S THIS SOFT LAYER HERE THAT
RUNS RIGHT ACROSS THIS BLOCK AND THE NEIGHBORING BLOCK. SO BECAUSE OF THE WEAR PATTERN
AND THE FOSSILS, THEY ARE ALL SORT OF
LIKE FINGERPRINTS. THEY ALL TELL US EXACTLY
WHERE THEY CAME FROM, AND SO WE CAN MATCH THEM ALL UP WITH THE ROCK ON
THE SPHINX'S BODY ITSELF. Narrator: THE UNIQUE PATTERN
RUNNING THROUGH THE STONE PROVES THAT THE ROCK THAT ONCE
SURROUNDED THE SPHINX'S BODY WAS TAKEN TO MAKE
KHAFRE'S TEMPLES. SO THE SPHINX ITSELF
MUST HAVE BEEN CARVED AFTER KHAFRE'S TEMPLES. THERE WAS NO SPHINX
BEFORE THAT TIME. Lacovara:
I THINK THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT KHAFRE BUILT
THE GREAT SPHINX. I THINK ALL THE EVIDENCE
POINTS IN THAT DIRECTION. ANY OF THE OTHER EVIDENCE
IS JUST FULL OF HOLES. IT'S THE LOGICAL CHOICE, IT'S THE ONE THAT MAKES, THE ONLY ONE THAT
MAKES REAL SENSE. Narrator: IF LACOVARA'S THEORY
IS CORRECT, THERE IS NO ROOM FOR DOUBT. IT WAS KHAFRE WHO
BUILT THE SPHINX... NOT HIS FATHER, KHUFU... ...OR HIS BROTHER, DJEDEFRE. LACOVARA'S FINDINGS ALSO
RULE OUT COLIN READER'S THEORY, THAT THE SPHINX BEGAN AS A LION, CARVED MUCH EARLIER
THAN KHAFRE'S TIME. SO THE FACE ON THE SPHINX
HAS A NAME. THIS IS KHAFRE. ONE QUESTION REMAINS. CAN THE TEAM DISCOVER WHY
HE BUILT THIS MONSTER? THE GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA IS THE LARGEST SINGLE
STONE STATUE IN THE WORLD. IT WAS BUILT BY
THE PHARAOH KHAFRE AROUND 4,500 YEARS AGO. BUT WHAT MOTIVATED HIM TO
CREATE THIS VAST STRUCTURE? UNTIL RECENTLY, ALMOST NOTHING
WAS KNOWN ABOUT KHAFRE. BUT NOW EGYPTOLOGIST ZAHI HAWASS
HAS UNCOVERED AN EXTRAORDINARY TOMB
BURIED IN THE DESERT SAND CLOSE TO THE SPHINX. Zahi Hawass: THIS IS THE MOST
RECENT DISCOVERY IN EGYPT. THIS SEEMS TO BE
A SPECIAL CEMETERY OF PRIESTS OF KHAFRE. IT'S SOMETHING THAT
WE NEVER EXPECTED. Narrator: AROUND 2494 BC,
THE PHARAOH KHAFRE DIED AFTER RULING EGYPT FOR
A QUARTER OF A CENTURY. BUT THIS DISCOVERY SHOWS
THAT HE WASN'T FORGOTTEN. Ikram: TO BE FORGOTTEN
WAS THE WORST THING THAT COULD EVER HAPPEN TO YOU
IN ANCIENT EGYPT. SO YOU ESTABLISH A CULT
WHERE PEOPLE WILL COME SO THAT OFFERINGS ARE GIVEN--
BREAD, BEER, WINE-- AND FOR A KING
IT'S EVEN MORE IMPORTANT. Narrator: THIS IS THE TOMB
OF KHAFRE'S PRIESTS. THEIR JOB WAS TO KEEP HIS NAME
ALIVE AFTER HIS DEATH THROUGH RELIGIOUS RITUALS
AND OFFERINGS TO THE GODS. Hawass:
THIS IS A UNIQUE DISCOVERY. FOR THE FIRST TIME, THIS CEMETERY ACTUALLY
SHOWS THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE CULT OF KHAFRE
AND ALSO THE SPHINX. AND WE KNOW THAT THE CULT
OF KHAFRE CONTINUED UNTIL THE END OF
THE OLD KINGDOM. Narrator: IT'S NOW BELIEVED THAT
THIS CULT OF KHAFRE LASTED FAR LONGER THAN
PREVIOUSLY SUSPECTED. FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS
PRIESTS TENDED KHAFRE'S TEMPLE. BUT WHY DID
KHAFRE'S MEMORY SURVIVE FOR SO MANY CENTURIES
AFTER HIS DEATH? THE ANSWER AND THE FINAL CLUE
TO THE MYSTERY OF THE SPHINX LIES WITH THE GIANT STATUE
ITSELF AND THE TEMPLE THAT SITS
AT ITS PAWS. WHAT'S REALLY INTERESTING THIS IS KIND OF
A UNIQUE BUILDING, 'CAUSE WE HAVEN'T SEEN THIS
IN PYRAMID COMPLEXES BEFORE. THIS IS AN ADDITIONAL,
AN EXTRA TEMPLE. SO WHAT WAS THIS DOING HERE? AND IT MUST RELATE
TO THE SPHINX. AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE SPHINX
KIND OF LOOMS OVER IT. BUILT BY THE PHARAOH KHAFRE, IT'S THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND
IN EGYPT. Lacovara: AROUND IT ARE THESE
REMAINS OF HUGE PILLARS, WHICH WOULD HAVE HAD
GIANT STATUES OF KHAFRE STANDING IN FRONT OF THEM. AND THEN THIS ONE HERE,
ONE OVER HERE, ONE OVER HERE, ONE OVER HERE,
ONE THERE, ONE THERE. SO WE HAVE 12 STATUES IN TOTAL. MAPS OUT THE POSITIONS OF 24 STONE PILLARS AND WHAT HE BELIEVES WERE
12 HUGE STATUES OF KHAFRE. TO LACOVARA THIS CAN ONLY
MEAN ONE THING-- KHAFRE AND HIS PEOPLE
WERE SUN WORSHIPPERS. Lacovara: IT'S A TIME WHEN
THE GOD OF THE SUN IS BECOMING MUCH MORE IMPORTANT
IN EGYPTIAN RELIGION. THE SOLAR SYMBOLISM OF
THIS TEMPLE IS PRETTY CLEAR. IT'S REFLECTED IN
THE NUMBERS OF THE STATUES, SYMBOLIZING THE HOURS
OF THE DAY. Narrator: THIS IS THE KEY
TO UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE OF THE SPHINX. CARVED FROM THE PLATEAU. IT'S PART OF A VAST
COSMIC BUILDING PROJECT. AND WHEN LACOVARA MAPS OUT THE
POSITIONS OF KHAFRE'S TEMPLE, THE SPHINX AND THE PYRAMID, THEIR RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE
BECOMES CLEAR. HE DISCOVERS THAT DURING
THE SPRING AND FALL EQUINOXES, THE TWO SPECIAL
TIMES OF THE YEAR WHEN DAY AND NIGHT ARE
IN PERFECT BALANCE, SPHINX, TEMPLE AND PYRAMID
ARE ALL PERFECTLY ALIGNED WITH THE RISING AND SETTING SUN. Lacovara: AND YOU CAN
KIND OF VISUALIZE IT, BECAUSE DURING THE EQUINOX, OVER THIS COURT. IN THE CENTER AXIS OF THE TEMPLE
WE HAVE A NICHE FOR A STATUE. AND THEN ON THE OPPOSITE WALL
OF THE TEMPLE, WE HAVE ANOTHER NICHE
ALSO ON CENTER AXIS. SO THE SUN WOULD RISE
AND LIGHT UP THE STATUES, GIVING BIRTH TO THE STATUE
AS IT'S ILLUMINATED, THEN AS IT MAKES ITS ARC
ACROSS THE SKY, THE STATUE WOULD BE
DARKENED TO DIE, AND THEN IT WOULD ILLUMINATE THE
OTHER ONE, SHOWING IT REBORN. SO WE HAVE THIS ETERNAL CYCLE
OF DEATH AND REBIRTH. Narrator: ON THESE SPECIAL DAYS
OF THE YEAR, THE SUN PASSES OVER THE TEMPLE THE SPHINX ITSELF TO THE BASE OF KHAFRE'S PYRAMID. SUN, PYRAMID, SPHINX, TEMPLE. ALL UNITED. WITH THE SPHINX, THE SYMBOL
OF THE PHARAOH HIMSELF, PRESENTING OFFERINGS
TO THE SUN GOD. Lacovara: THIS IS A GIANT
REPRESENTATION OF KHAFRE OFFERING THIS TEMPLE
TO THE GODS. Narrator:
AND WHY THE LION'S BODY? BECAUSE THE LION IS A SYMBOL OF
BOTH THE PHARAOH AND THE SUN, BRINGING TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE THE TWO GREAT POWERS THAT GOVERN
ALL LIFE IN EGYPT. CLOSE OBSERVERS OF NATURE. SO THE LION IS YELLOWISH
LIKE THE SUN. IT HAS THIS HUGE MANE, WHICH IS, AGAIN, LIKE THE SUN
AND THE SUNRAYS. LIONS ARE MOST ACTIVE
AT THE DAWN, WHICH IS WHEN
THEY DO THEIR HUNTING, AND THEY LIKE TO
BASK IN THE SUN. SO ALL OF THESE THINGS TOGETHER REALLY MAKE THE LION
AN IDEAL SYMBOL FOR THE SUN AND THE SUN GOD. Narrator:
WE CAN LOOK AT THE SPHINX AND CALL IT A VANITY PROJECT. A MAN CARVES HIS OWN IMAGE
DIRECTLY INTO A ROCK FACE. BUT IN FACT, THE AMBITION
BEHIND IT SEEMS FAR BIGGER. THE WAY ALL THIS WAS BUILT,
THE POSITIONING OF EACH STONE, THE ALIGNMENT OF SPHINX
WITH TEMPLE AND PYRAMID, THESE MAKE IT A PIECE OF
PRECISION ENGINEERING. AND THE WAY LACOVARA READS IT,
IT ALL HAS A SPECIAL PURPOSE-- TO GIVE KHAFRE NOTHING LESS
THAN IMMORTALITY. Lacovara: SO THE MAIN PURPOSE
OF ALL THIS CONSTRUCTION, ALL THIS BUILDING,
WAS TO ENSURE THE ETERNAL LIFE, THE IMMORTAL EXISTENCE OF
THE PHARAOH, OF KHAFRE. SO IT HAS TO DO WITH
THE RESURRECTION OF THE KING. CALL THIS
THE RESURRECTION MACHINE. THIS KIND OF SYMBOLISM
GUARANTEES KIND OF EVERLASTING LIFE, THAT YOU WOULD BE PART
OF THIS ETERNAL CYCLE. Narrator: AND ALTHOUGH HIS WORLD
EVENTUALLY VANISHED, KHAFRE'S PLAN TO LIVE FOREVER
PARTLY WORKED. AS TODAY, 4,500 YEARS LATER, WE STILL GAZE IN WONDER
UPON THE FACE OF KHAFRE.
