Measuring 240 feet long from paw to tail, and around the height of a six-story building, the Great Sphinx is one of Egypt’s most spectacular, and mysterious, monuments. Believed to have been built over four millennia ago, much of its story has been lost to history, and the rest is shrouded in myth.

So what do we know about who built it? What caused such an impressive structure to be forgotten for centuries? And how is it being protected today?

This is a Short History Of The Egyptian Sphinx.

A Noiser Production. Written by Nicole Edmunds. With thanks to Salina Ikram, a professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo.

Get every episode of Short History Of a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material, and early access to shows across the Noiser network. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started. Or, if you’re on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices