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The actual date when the Sphinx
was first built is unknown, although many say it was around 2500 B.C. The
Sphinx is 66 feet tall and more than 240 feet long! It faces east, and
is the first to see the sunrise every morning. Heavy rains over the years
have worn away much of the detail of this great wonder. Scientists can
guess at when the last heavy rains in the Sahara Desert were by studying
the erosion of the Sphinx. When did it last rain heavily? More than
4000 years ago! However, some of the damage to the Sphinx has been done
by different armies passing through Egypt over the years. Some armies used
the Sphinx as target practice, aiming especially for the nose!
Recently, scientists have discovered
that there is a chamber below the Sphinx! Several, in fact. Although only
one room of this chamber has been opened so far, with nothing found in
it, many more openings are scheduled to happen in the next two years! No
one knows what will be found in this chamber, although the most popular
theory is that some sort of Hall of Records for the Ancient Egyptian society
will be found, after all these thousands of years!
