The Sphinx Water-Erosion Hypothesis

Record summary

The water-erosion hypothesis argues that weathering on the Great Sphinx enclosure indicates heavy rainfall and therefore a much earlier construction date than the conventional Fourth Dynasty attribution. Robert Schoch and supporters have promoted this interpretation, while Egyptologists and geologists have disputed the erosion diagnosis, chronology and implications. Although the argument is modern rather than nineteenth-century, it is useful for examining how older European Egyptological chronologies are challenged through geological claims. Verification requires comparing field observations, climate models, masonry history and archaeological context.