Great Sphinx of Tanis

Ancient Egyptian The Great Sphinx of Tanis is the largest sphinx outside Egypt's Giza plateau, measuring nearly five meters long and carved from pink granite. Created around 2600 BCE during the Old Kingdom, the sculpture later received inscriptions from pharaohs Amenemhat II, Merneptah, and Shoshenq I, each claiming it as their own. This layering of royal names makes precise dating difficult but reveals how later kings reused ancient monuments.

Excavators discovered the sphinx at Tanis in the Nile Delta, once a major royal city. How it arrived there remains debated, as some scholars believe Ramesses II moved the sculpture from an earlier site. The pink granite and notable preservation distinguish this sphinx from weather-worn examples elsewhere. Traces of paint suggest the original surface was even more colorful.

Since 1826, the sphinx has reclined in the Egyptian galleries of the Louvre, one of the museum's most imposing ancient sculptures.