2023-11-07 12:00:10
The mysterious formation of the Sphinx of Giza, this emblematic stone sentinel which has been watching for 4,500 years in front of the pyramid of Khafre, might be partly part of the work of nature, reveals a recent study. Scientists from New York University (New York University: NYU,…) suggest that the monument may have been partially sculpted by wind erosion. which uses the driving force of the wind. This force can be…) before being finely chiseled by the hands of the ancient Egyptians.
Credit: Applied Mathematics Laboratory of the University of New York (New York, in English New York City (officially, City of New York) to distinguish it from…)
In their October 17 study, published in the journal Physical Review Fluids, the researchers suggest that a yardang, a ridge of rock eroded by wind, might naturally take the shape of a sphinx (The Sphinx is a fantastic creature present in several mythological traditions,…). However, to achieve the finesse of the characteristic features of the Sphinx, delicate shaping work would have been essential, they emphasize.
To explore this hypothesis, the team simulated millennia of wind erosion by placing a mound of clay, containing a harder material. , in an aquatic tunnel. The rapid current has eroded the clay, gradually revealing the shape of a sphinx. The most resistant part has become the ‘head’ of the lion, and elements evoking the neck and legs also emerged.
The lines indicate the currents shaping the experimental materials into an object similar to a sphinx.
Credit: New York University Applied Mathematics Laboratory
Leif Ristroph, associate professor of mathematics at NYU and lead author of the study, admits that although it is possible that such a natural formation pre-existed at Giza, we cannot say whether it actually existed. He nevertheless emphasizes that the Egyptians accomplished considerable work to perfect the structure.
Egyptologists and scientists, not associated with the study, consider that these discoveries, although interesting, do not prove the past existence of such a natural formation at Giza. Kathryn Bard, professor emeritus of archeology and classical studies at Boston University, has reservations, having never observed a yardang similar to that produced by the experiment.
Image d’illustration Pixabay
Judith Bunbury, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Cambridge, recognizes previous hypotheses regarding the natural formation of the Sphinx and appreciates the model presented by the study. Laura Ranieri Roy, Egyptologist, recalls that research carried out in the 1930s by archaeologist Émile Baraize suggests that the Sphinx (The Sphinx is a fantastic creature present in several mythological traditions,…) was built on two yardangs.
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#nonhuman #shaping
