Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx. Facing directly west to east, it's on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile. The face of the Sphinx appears to represent the pharaoh Khafre.

The original shape of the Sphinx was cut from the bedrock, and has since been restored with layers of limestone blocks. It is 73 m long from paw to tail, 20 m high from the base to the top of the head and 19 m wide at its rear haunches. Its nose was broken off for unknown reasons between the 200s and 900s CE.

The Sphinx is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt and one of the most recognizable statues in the world.