# What explains the weathering of the body and the enclosure walls? · Great Sphinx of Giza > Five answers have been proposed. Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced… leads, with… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCZP7K5T/what-explains-the-weathering-of-the-body-and-the-enclosure Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T11:57:33+00:00 --- **0** # What explains the weathering of the body and the enclosure walls? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·5 answers·0·0 following **Most likely: salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced…** Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted. ## Where it stands Five answers have been proposed. Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced… leads, with evidence 3 for, 1 against: supported by its tests. Four are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet. ## Why it matters The weathering is the only physical evidence offered for a date earlier than Khafre. If its agent and rate can be fixed, the age argument becomes a measurement rather than a matter of comparison⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRWCE2JAW/seismic-investigations-in-the-vicinity-of-the-great-sphinx)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRVN048W5/geologic-weathering-and-its-implications-on-the-age-of-the)⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRW4M7ANG/the-sphinx-controversy-another-look-at-the-geological). ## Answers 5 [**Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/answers/ANS0CTWSP8J5BX7/salt-crystallisation-clay-swelling-and-wet-sand-burial-with) Supported by its tests Evidence: 3 for, 1 against Most likely [**Long periods of rainfall and runoff, in a wetter climate before the dynastic period, cut the rounded profile…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/answers/ANS0CTWSMHW519G/long-periods-of-rainfall-and-runoff-in-a-wetter-climate) Failed a test; not refuted outright Evidence: 1 for, 2 against Disputed [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/answers/ANS0CTWSR7215TM/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible [**Runoff from the plateau eroded the enclosure in the Early Dynastic period, until Khufu's quarries diverted…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/answers/ANS0CTWSNH45F0B/runoff-from-the-plateau-eroded-the-enclosure-in-the-early) Tested, but the results don't decide it Evidence: 2 for Disputed [**There is little true erosion; the rough body is the construction core, cut back and faced with a veneer that…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/answers/ANS0CTWSQFM780N/there-is-little-true-erosion-the-rough-body-is-the) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Still possible ## History 1. 1990[Chowdhury et al.: bed-by-bed porosity and durability measurements show the Member II beds that recede most are the weakest and…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRVWT5BCP/weathering-of-limestone-beds-at-the-great-sphinx)For: Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced… 1. 1992[Lehner: lehner records the original carved surface preserved beneath the oldest cladding, which is the surface this…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRSPG31HX/reconstructing-the-sphinx)Against: There is little true erosion; the rough body is the construction core, cut back and faced with a veneer that… 1. 1994[Lehner: lehner argues the comparison tombs are cut in different strata and that the fissures predate quarrying.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRT6451X8/notes-and-photographs-on-the-west-schoch-sphinx-hypothesis)Against: Long periods of rainfall and runoff, in a wetter climate before the dynastic period, cut the rounded profile… 1. 1994[Harrell: cairo now receives 2.5 to 3.5 cm of rain a year, often in intense storms, so runoff in the dynastic period is…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRW4M7ANG/the-sphinx-controversy-another-look-at-the-geological)For: Runoff from the plateau eroded the enclosure in the Early Dynastic period, until Khufu's quarries diverted… 1. 1994[Harrell: lehner's estimate puts the Old Kingdom floodplain at 13 to 15 m and floods at perhaps 17 m, below the…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRW4M7ANG/the-sphinx-controversy-another-look-at-the-geological)Against: Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced… 1. 1994[Harrell: 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/sources/SRC0CTWRW4M7ANG/the-sphinx-controversy-another-look-at-the-geological)For: Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced… 1. 1995[Gauri et al.: gauri's group found that the soft beds of Member II recede faster whatever the agent, so differential…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRVN048W5/geologic-weathering-and-its-implications-on-the-age-of-the)Against: Long periods of rainfall and runoff, in a wetter climate before the dynastic period, cut the rounded profile… 1. 2001[Reader puts forward: runoff from the plateau eroded the enclosure in the Early Dynastic period, until Khufu's quarries diverted…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRWW22NE7/a-geomorphological-study-of-the-giza-necropolis-with) 1. 2001[Reader: reader's geomorphological study maps the plateau catchment above the Sphinx and finds the heaviest…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRWW22NE7/a-geomorphological-study-of-the-giza-necropolis-with)For: Runoff from the plateau eroded the enclosure in the Early Dynastic period, until Khufu's quarries diverted… 1. 2010[Hadingham: modern flaking and the need for repeated repairs show active salt weathering on the exposed body.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRTNR2N3D/uncovering-secrets-of-the-sphinx)For: Salt crystallisation, clay swelling and wet-sand burial, with flooding and wind on exposed parts, produced… 1. 2025[Schneiker puts forward: there is little true erosion; the rough body is the construction core, cut back and faced with a veneer that…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRY340M59/the-great-sphinx-a-new-view-on-the-erosion-enigma) 1. 2025[Schneiker: a 2025 GSA poster abstract proposes that the weathered appearance is the exposed rough core of a veneered…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRY340M59/the-great-sphinx-a-new-view-on-the-erosion-enigma)For: There is little true erosion; the rough body is the construction core, cut back and faced with a veneer that… 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSCZP7K5T/what-explains-the-weathering-of-the-body-and-the-enclosure%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/QST0CTWSCZP7K5T/what-explains-the-weathering-of-the-body-and-the-enclosure%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/QST0CTWSCZP7K5T/what-explains-the-weathering-of-the-body-and-the-enclosure%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/QST0CTWSCZP7K5T/what-explains-the-weathering-of-the-body-and-the-enclosure%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/QST0CTWSCZP7K5T/what-explains-the-weathering-of-the-body-and-the-enclosure%23add-source) Where it fits Great Sphinx of Giza **What explains the weathering of the body and the enclosure walls?** Key question · you're here [Does the weathered layer under the ditch floor measure how long each part has been exposed?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSD7G59TK/does-the-weathered-layer-under-the-ditch-floor-measure-how)Most likely · the layer is a depositional facies (coral-rich shoal-reef limestone) or a picking choice, and its thickness… [ Ask a question under this one ]