Hawass Unveils Secrets of Sphinx to Australian Former PM

Egyptian prominent Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass and Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia, visited the Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx on Thursday.

During the visit, Dr. Hawass unveiled that the Sphinx was built for King Khafra, who had built the second great pyramid of Giza.

Hawass refuted all rumors about a hidden city under the Sphinx, pointing out that there is no scientific evidence for that.

He added that there are pictures of excavations that were carried out under the Sphinx and showed that there are no passages beneath the Sphinx.

Hawass confirmed that there are three tunnels around the Sphinx, first of which, exists above the back of the statue and was discovered in 1937 by the French engineer Bering who was searching for treasures inside the body of the statue.

While the second tunnel was found at the north side of the statue before it was drowned by French Egyptologist Gupino. It was believed that the tunnel was full of treasures and monuments.

The third tunnel exists behind “The Dream Portrait” and was discovered by the Italian adventurer Kavliain the early 19th century when he was digging under the chest of Sphinx.

Hawass also talked about recent archaeological discoveries announced by the Ministry of Antiquities, pointing out to his excavations in the Valley of the Monkeys in the Western Valley.

The Egyptian archaeologist also talked about Tutankhamun's opera, which will be displayed at the opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum GEM. It will be also on display during the celebrations of 100-year anniversary of discovering King Tut’s tomb in 2022.

Hawass confirmed that the most important discovery in the 21st century was the discovery of Wadi El Jarf papyri, which uncovered many secrets regarding the construction of the Second Great Pyramid of Khafra.