Egypt
The scholar Robert Temple and his wife Olivia have just published a book of 565 pages in English titled "The Sphinx Mystery, the forgotten origins of the sanctuary of Anubis", well documented with many elements excavated from oblivion or multiple scattered collections inaccessible to the public, in which he explains "The moat of the sphinx in the Ancient Empire was known in the Texts of the Pyramids as the lake of the jackal, the channel of God, the channel of Anubis, the Lake of Life ..."
Now there are many references to this throughout ancient Egyptian literature: for example on the altars in the tomb of Tutankhamen in reference to Rostau (Giza) it is cited that its topography is that of water and there is mention of "The house of the lake" regarding the island of the Sphinx. Even Auguste Mariette who dug around the Sphinx in 1858 admits that the Sphinx enclosure had to contain water of the Nile in ancient times (see references). In the text of the Sarcophagi, we hear about the lustral basin, Lake of the Jackal. Why?
Quite simply, because of the academic Temple's assertion that the Sphinx was originally made in the image of Anubis ("Jackal" is a bad name translation because there have never been jackals in Lower Egypt, but rather wild dogs) the guardian of the site par excellence, and he proves it with forceful analysis, photos and research.
The sphinx would have become leonine towards the Fourth Dynasty when lions were very fashionable in all representations; then the Middle Kingdom Amenemhat II would have affixed this image to his face (and not Cheops). But I will not go into too much detail of the work of Temple here, only a few points here and there. The fact that the original Sphinx could be the representation of Anubis is something I've been announcing for years in front of the Sphinx itself to those who accompany me in my tours: "in situ" the slope of the back, the tail, signs of erosion from water of the moat. It should be understood that since antiquity the Sphinx has undergone many restorations, the last of which which consisted of additions of thick courses of ugly and useless stones which only make the contours of the sphinx appear clumsy and without finesse. This is very visible today in the legs, which now look like huge papier-mache bars. We have pictures from the early 19th century and many later photos and after careful analysis we see big differences in the "modern" restorations and successive ones. The "Coffin Texts" does not only speak of the lake of the "jackal" (Anubis) but it also mentions: "His name is 'dog faced', his size is huge" (verses 1165-1185). Twice in the "Pyramid Texts", Anubis is cited as being "the height of the West" (the only pivotal height in Lower Egypt is the Giza Plateau) and The Lake of the "Jackal" is also cited in the book "The Caves". The outstanding researcher Terence Du Quesne enumerated many references to Anubis "Lord of Rostau (Giza)" in inscriptions and on the walls; he has listed ten sources of this particular title to date.[1]
A more personal reason is that for the last 20 years now I have also been collecting evidence of sea erosion due to deep water saturation on the Giza plateau. My own theory (already published in France in 2007) is that the last Great Flood (and no doubt others before it) came up the Giza plateau, and that the Ancient Egyptians with their incomparable skills adapted the plateau from the beginning in order to protect their population and their science beneath it.
I have found that the extensive erosion patterns at the lower elevations of the plateau are different to the erosion patterns found at higher elevations. These erosion patterns are due to the Necropolis’s inundation by water. The inundation of water reaches a maximum of 75 meters over our current sea level creating a shoreline at the Khafra enclosure that spans all the way across to the Menkara temple. This shoreline is a 2 meter high intertidal range showing pitting and tidal notches due to seawater, wave mechanics, and tidal ebbing. At the lower levels such as at the Sphinx, the Sphinx temple, the first 20 courses of the Great pyramid including the boat pits; we see erosion due to deeper water saturation, where the stone blocks and wall linings have absorbed sea water. As the waters receded and a dry sunny windy climate took place, these megalithic stone blocks started weathering, creating tafoni erosions which are due to the salt chemically reacting and flaking the limestone with pitting formations. During a catastrophic sea surge and the forthcoming water regression, we clearly observe at certain areas such as corners, outlets, and trenches... horizontal indentures due to water force gushing and turbulence. On the top temple blocks we have sediment and alluvium deposits that have collected on the flat surfaces such as seen in shallow sea beds and lagoons, creating an oozing spongy effect due to the water regression that left these deposits.
Reaching the maximum level of the inundation, which is 75 meters over our current sea level, we see a different type of erosion that is due to wave mechanics and tidal ebbing that has created a 2 meter high ancient intertidal range. This ancient shoreline spans from the Khafra enclosure up to the Menkara temple, where the rock hewn cliffs plus the temple blocks are all extensively eroded with tidal notches and extensive pitting. The erosions are so extensive that most blocks are nearly dilapidated out of existence, losing block mass and disfigured into grotesque shapes. This disfiguration is due to wave hitting, sea spray, and shallow marine habitation.
A megalithic temple block at 75 meter over our current sea level and part of the ancient shoreline. It stands in a 2 meter intertidal range showing a clear tidal notch. It’s dilapidated state with more than half its mass lost is due to wave mechanics, sea water erosion, and probable marine habitation.
During my photo shoot of this ancient seashore line, I nearly tripped off a 2nd level temple block. To my surprise the bulge on the top surface of the block that nearly made me trip was a petrified exoskeleton of what seems to be an Echinoid (sea urchin), which is a shallow sea marine creature. The coincidence to discover a petrified shallow marine creature laying on a top surface of a temple block that sits right under the ancient intertidal range, is a blessing. This is probably the most absolute proof that the Giza Necropolis was inundated by a sea surge. The petrified Echinoid and the dilapidated temple block stand together creating for us such a solid picture of an ancient lagoon that once existed at the Menkara temple during a high sea that inundate the Necropolis.
Full report and photos at Gigal Research[2].
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=sea+urchin+temple+giza+block&atb=v203-1&ia=web
Category:Egypt