Egypt's iconic Sphinx had a 'distinctive astronomical' moment with sun during equinox

Egypt Ministry of Antiquities reportedly said on March 19 that the Sphinx had a "distinctive astronomical" moment with the sun during the spring equinox when, in a shining flourish, the sunset on the shoulder of the half-man, half-lion statue. The Ministry reportedly said that the rare phenomenon happens twice a year during the spring in March and the fall equinox in September. It is believed that the earth's axis does not point toward or away from the sun, during the equinox which means that the Northern and Southern hemispheres receive equal amounts of sunlight. In addition, it means the day and night are equal in length.

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About the Sphinx

The iconic half-man, half-lion is carved out of limestone bedrock. The Sphinx is also strategically placed for the summer solstice in June, when the sun sets between the pyramids of pharaohs Khufu and Khafre, as per reports. As per reports, the Sphinx's position during the equinoxes and summer solstice suggests that the ancient Egyptians purposefully positioned the hybrid lion-man statue.

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The Egypt Ministry of Antiquities wrote in a Facebook post, "This phenomenon proves that archaeologists were wrong when they said that the ancient Egyptians had found an ancient rock by accident and turned it into a statue of a human face and a non-human body". 

Meanwhile, archaeologists have chanced upon an underground chamber decorated with images of panthers, centaurs and a sphinx in the remains of a vast palace built by Emperor Nero in Rome. The team came across an opening leading to a room covered with depictions of mythical creatures including centaurs and the god Pan, officials from the Colosseum archaeological park, supervising the work informed on Friday.

Archaeologists have chanced upon an underground chamber decorated with images of panthers, centaurs and a sphinx in the remains of a vast palace built by Emperor Nero in Rome. The team came across an opening leading to a room covered with depictions of mythical creatures including centaurs and the god Pan, officials from the Colosseum archaeological park, supervising the work informed on Friday.

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