Sphinx water erosion hypothesis

Lore & Background

The hypothesis draws on readings by Edgar Cayce, who said Atlantis was destroyed around 10,500 BC and that Atlantean refugees built the Sphinx. In the 1950s, French mystic Schwaller de Lubicz speculated the Sphinx's body was eroded by deluges and predated them, linking it to Atlantis. In 1979, John Anthony West attributed the erosion to Nile floods, suggesting a date around 10,000–12,000 BC, creating room for a lost advanced civilization. Ten years later, West sought geologist Robert Schoch's opinion; in 1991 Schoch presented his version, avoiding the word 'Atlantis,' originally dating the Sphinx to 5000–7000 BC, later shifting it to ~9700 BC under the influence of Bauval's Orion correlation theory.

Reader's Guide

The Sphinx water erosion hypothesis remains a fringe claim rejected by most archaeologists and Egyptologists, who attribute the Sphinx to pharaoh Khafre. Critics point to problems with Schoch and West's methodology, note that the Sphinx enclosure fits the Giza complex layout, and cite geological evidence that limestone from the enclosure was used in nearby buildings. Geologists attribute the erosion to Nile flooding and occasional heavy rains that persisted into the Dynastic period. Archaeological context shows the Sphinx was carved after Khafre's Valley Temple and causeway, and luminescence dating of the Sphinx Temple and Valley Temple gives dates in the middle to late third millennium BC, concurring with Khafre's era. Missing archaeological evidence for an earlier civilization—no complex settlements, social hierarchy, or infrastructure—further undermines the hypothesis. The hypothesis persists in popular culture but lacks scholarly support.

Did You Know?

• The hypothesis is inspired by the myth of Atlantis and readings by Edgar Cayce.
• Geologist Robert Schoch originally estimated the Sphinx was created between 5000 and 7000 BC, later shifting it to ~9700 BC under the influence of Bauval's Orion correlation theory.
• Most archaeologists and Egyptologists attribute the Sphinx to pharaoh Khafre.
• Luminescence dating of the Sphinx Temple and Valley Temple gave dates in the middle to late third millennium BC.