# Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced…

> Most likely: Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced the weathering within the last…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/answers/ANS0CTWSP8J5BX7/salt-crystallisation-clay-swelling-and-wet-sand-burial-with  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Great Sphinx of Giza](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx)[What explains the weathering of the body and the enclosure walls?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCZP7K5T/what-explains-the-weathering-of-the-body-and-the-enclosure)Answer

Answer · Great Sphinx of Giza

# Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced…

Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced the weathering within the last 4,500 years.

**Most likely** Answers **1** questionPublished0

## Where it stands

**Most likely** Its tests supported it: three pieces of evidence for, one against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- Recession is greatest in the beds with the highest clay and salt content and porosity.
- Weathering is strongest near the floor, within the capillary rise zone and the flood range.
- Exposed surfaces continue to flake today at measurable rates.

## What would rule it out

- Recession that is independent of bed lithology and height above the floor.

## Evidence 3 for · 1 against

[Bed-by-bed porosity and durability measurements show the Member II beds that recede most are the weakest and…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/evidence/EVD0CTWSPGC5W5T/bed-by-bed-porosity-and-durability-measurements-show-the)

Supported

FOR

[Modern flaking and the need for repeated repairs show active salt weathering on the exposed body.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/evidence/EVD0CTWSQ004TQT/modern-flaking-and-the-need-for-repeated-repairs-show-active)

Supported

FOR

[The enclosure floor lies at 19.9 to 20.2 m above sea level, within reach of exceptional Nile floods (20.3 m…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/evidence/EVD0CTWSPR61TP8/the-enclosure-floor-lies-at-19-9-to-20-2-m-above-sea-level)

Supported

FOR

[Lehner's estimate puts the Old Kingdom floodplain at 13 to 15 m and floods at perhaps 17 m, below the…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/evidence/EVD0CTWSQ7T55N4/lehners-estimate-puts-the-old-kingdom-floodplain-at-13-to-15)

Suggestive

AGAINST

## The questions it answers

[What explains the weathering of the body and the enclosure walls?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCZP7K5T/what-explains-the-weathering-of-the-body-and-the-enclosure)

Most likelySalt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced…

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced… [Answer ANS0CTWSP8J5BX7]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0CTWSP8J5BX7
```

Key

**ANS** 0CTWSP8J5BX7

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Origin

Published

Version

1

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