The Great Sphinx of Giza is a sculpture of a reclining lion with a human head carved on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile, not far from present-day Cairo in Egypt. It is the largest monolithic sculpture in the world. The Great Sphinx of Giza is 73.5 m long, 6 m wide and 20 m high.

It is also the oldest known monumental sculpture. It was established that it was created during the reign of the 4th Dynasty, around 2600-2500 BC. Ave. m. e., but it is not clear which pharaoh. It is also not clear which of these rulers is depicted with the face of the sphinx. The exact purpose of the sphinx has not yet been revealed.

It is assumed that its function could have been to protect the territory of Giza. A temple was built next to the sphinx. The Sphinx was completely buried by sand from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. beginning This contributed to the fact that the sphinx survived to this day at all, and was not destroyed by erosion.