According to an 09 August 2013 article by CNN, part of a sphinx statue has been found in northern Israel. The find is important for many reasons, not least because it is the only piece of Egyptian sculpture found anywhere in the Levant.
As the article reports, excavations at Tel Hazor in northern Israel first began in the 1950s. The capital city of Canaan some 4,000 years ago, Tel Hazor is conveniently located on the route connecting Egypt to Babylon.
Some quotes from Mystery surrounds Egyptian sphinx unearthed in Israel which you can read at the CNN website:
The growing realisation that this piece you've just found, unearthed, that it is special and that it has meaning. As you investigate the find, the growing certainty that what you have in front of you is a unique and one-of-a-kind piece of historical reality. Right there to touch, to look at, to test and examine.
To find something as unique as this sphinx, I can't imagine many thrills greater than that for someone with a keen interest in biblical archaeology! Oh, to have been a fly buzzing around Tel Hazor that day!
As the article reports, excavations at Tel Hazor in northern Israel first began in the 1950s. The capital city of Canaan some 4,000 years ago, Tel Hazor is conveniently located on the route connecting Egypt to Babylon.
Some quotes from Mystery surrounds Egyptian sphinx unearthed in Israel which you can read at the CNN website:
"Inexplicably buried far from Egypt, the paws of a sphinx statue, resting on its base, have been unearthed with an inscription in hieroglyphs naming King Mycerinus. The pharaoh ruled in 2500 BC and oversaw the construction of one of the three Giza pyramids, where he was enshrined.
"This is of extreme importance from many points of view, since it is the only sphinx of this king known in the world -- even in Egypt. It is also the only monumental piece of Egyptian sculpture found anywhere in the Levant," he said, referring to the region spanning the east of the Mediterranean Sea.
During most of the year, this remote part of Israel is quiet. But every summer, archeologists, students and volunteers descend on Tel Hazor to uncover how the ancients lived. The site has become important for biblical archaeology, which aims to illuminate events in the Bible."How amazing must it be to be one of the people who get to discover history up close. Finding a statue depicting someone who lived more than four thousand years ago - I can't even begin to imagine how amazing that must have been!
The growing realisation that this piece you've just found, unearthed, that it is special and that it has meaning. As you investigate the find, the growing certainty that what you have in front of you is a unique and one-of-a-kind piece of historical reality. Right there to touch, to look at, to test and examine.
To find something as unique as this sphinx, I can't imagine many thrills greater than that for someone with a keen interest in biblical archaeology! Oh, to have been a fly buzzing around Tel Hazor that day!