# Did the builders start from a natural landform? · Great Sphinx of Giza > Three answers have been proposed. The body was a reserved block left by cutting a U-shaped ditch into a sloping bedrock bench; no free-standing… leads… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCQW3QY8/did-the-builders-start-from-a-natural-landform Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T11:57:33+00:00 --- **0** # Did the builders start from a natural landform? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·Part of [When was the Great Sphinx carved?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCG26180/when-was-the-great-sphinx-carved)·3 answers·0·0 following **Most likely: the body was a reserved block left by cutting a U-shaped ditch into a sloping bedrock bench; no free-standing…** Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted. ## Where it stands Three answers have been proposed. The body was a reserved block left by cutting a U-shaped ditch into a sloping bedrock bench; no free-standing… leads, with evidence 1 for: partly supported by its tests. Two are still possible. ## Why it matters Wind-carved ridges called yardangs sometimes look like crouching animals. If the Sphinx began as one, part of its shape predates any builder and the question of its date splits in two⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRXVA1BVT/sculpting-the-sphinx). ## Answers 3 [**The body was a reserved block left by cutting a U-shaped ditch into a sloping bedrock bench; no free-standing…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/answers/ANS0CTWSKTE583Y/the-body-was-a-reserved-block-left-by-cutting-a-u-shaped) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 1 for Most likely [**A wind-eroded yardang with a hard knob at its head end suggested the lion, and the builders finished it by…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/answers/ANS0CTWSK301JCM/a-wind-eroded-yardang-with-a-hard-knob-at-its-head-end) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: 2 for Still possible [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/answers/ANS0CTWSMA247MZ/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible ## History 1. 1992[Lehner puts forward: the body was a reserved block left by cutting a U-shaped ditch into a sloping bedrock bench; no free-standing…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRSPG31HX/reconstructing-the-sphinx) 1. 1992[Lehner: the ditch was quarried around the body, and its stone went into the Sphinx Temple.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRSPG31HX/reconstructing-the-sphinx)For: The body was a reserved block left by cutting a U-shaped ditch into a sloping bedrock bench; no free-standing… 1. 2023[Boury et al. puts forward: a wind-eroded yardang with a hard knob at its head end suggested the lion, and the builders finished it by…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRXVA1BVT/sculpting-the-sphinx) 1. 2023[Boury et al.: clay mounds with a hard inclusion in a water tunnel eroded into forms with head, undercut neck, arched back…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRXVA1BVT/sculpting-the-sphinx)For: A wind-eroded yardang with a hard knob at its head end suggested the lion, and the builders finished it by… 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCQW3QY8/did-the-builders-start-from-a-natural-landform%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCQW3QY8/did-the-builders-start-from-a-natural-landform%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCQW3QY8/did-the-builders-start-from-a-natural-landform%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCQW3QY8/did-the-builders-start-from-a-natural-landform%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCQW3QY8/did-the-builders-start-from-a-natural-landform%23add-source) Where it fits Great Sphinx of Giza [**When was the Great Sphinx carved?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCG26180/when-was-the-great-sphinx-carved)Key question · most likely the Sphinx was carved under Khafre, about 2550 to 2520 BC, in the same quarrying operation that supplied the… **Did the builders start from a natural landform?** You're here · the body was a reserved block left by cutting a U-shaped ditch into a sloping bedrock bench; no free-standing… [ Ask a question under this one ]