# Reader 2026: Rewriting the History of the Great Sphinx

> Colin D. Reader, 2026. 5 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The current statement of the early-dynastic reading and of a head-recutting claim.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CTWRXBP1TMP/rewriting-the-history-of-the-great-sphinx  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Great Sphinx of Giza](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx)Reader 2026

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# Rewriting the History of the Great Sphinx

Colin D. Reader, 2026. _Archaeopress Archaeology, Oxford (332 pp., ISBN 9781805832096)_.

Argues from geology and the archaeology of early Giza that the Sphinx was carved in the Second Dynasty before the pyramids, that Khufu's quarrying changed the flooding that eroded the enclosure, that the Sphinx Temple predates Khafre's Valley Temple, and that a body carved for the lion goddess Mafdet had its head recut by Khufu.

**Great Sphinx of Giza** Bookdoi: **[10.32028/9781805832096](https://doi.org/10.32028/9781805832096)** Checked against the original0

## What it's used for here

The current statement of the early-dynastic reading and of a head-recutting claim.

## Cited by on this site 5 records

[It was carved as a lion or lioness, perhaps the goddess Mafdet, and later given a king's head.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/answers/ANS0CTWSTX01R4H/it-was-carved-as-a-lion-or-lioness-perhaps-the-goddess)

Answer

ANS

[The head was recut from a larger animal head in the Old Kingdom, by Khufu or Khafre.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/answers/ANS0CTWSWKP7QFT/the-head-was-recut-from-a-larger-animal-head-in-the-old)

Answer

ANS

[Reader's Rewriting the History of the Great Sphinx is published; reviewed in the American Journal of Archaeology](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/events/EVT0CTWSC887XTN/readers-rewriting-the-history-of-the-great-sphinx-is)

EVT

[The Great Sphinx of Giza](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx)

The mystery article

MYS

[What did the Sphinx originally represent?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/great-sphinx/questions/QST0CTWSDFA7K8D/what-did-the-sphinx-originally-represent)

Question

QST

## Cite it

```
Reader, C. D. (2026). Rewriting the History of the Great Sphinx. Archaeopress Archaeology, Oxford (332 pp., ISBN 9781805832096). https://doi.org/10.32028/9781805832096
```

[Find it at archaeopress.com](https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781805832096)

Key

**SRC** 0CTWRXBP1TMP

Kind

Book

Rights

The publisher's

Kept

29 Oct 2026, for editors

Checked

Against the published original

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

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