How much does the Sphinx weigh?

About 200 tons

How big is the sphinx compared to the great pyramid

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

About 200 tons

How big is the sphinx compared to the great pyramid

---

This doesn't pass the smell test. To put it in perspective - a Boeng 747 weighs more than twice that amount, so clearly this figure is not right.

Rock has a density of about 2 tons per cubic yard. The basic dimensions of the Sphinx are 65 ft high by 265 ft long by 20 ft wide - that works out to a bit more than 12000 cubic yards. Now we need to reduce that calculation by some amount because the Sphinx is not square on all sides (the head sticks up a lot higher than the rest of the body), so let's estimate it to be about 8000 cubic yards in volume. That would mean the Sphinx weighs around 16,000 tons, not a measly 200.

Just goes to show that you can't trust everything that's on the internet!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ebaines

This doesn't pass the smell test. To put it in perspective - a Boeng 747 weighs more than twice that amount, so clearly this figure is not right.

Rock has a density of about 2 tons per cubic yard. The basic dimensions of the Sphinx are 65 ft high by 265 ft long by 20 ft wide - that works out to a bit more than 12000 cubic yards. Now we need to reduce that calculation by some amount because the Sphinx is not square on all sides (the head sticks up a lot higher than the rest of the body), so let's estimate it to be about 8000 cubic yards in volume. That would mean the Sphinx weighs around 16,000 tons, not a measly 200.

Just goes to show that you can't trust everything that's on the internet!

---

Hi ebaines,

I guess the other point is that the Sphinx is a monolith (a rather small one). So we would be talking how much does the carved portion weigh?

Tut

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TUT317

I guess the other point is that the Sphinx is a monolith (a rather small one). So we would be talking how much does the carved portion weigh?

Tut

---

Yep. The dimensions I gave are for the portion of the rock that is above ground from which the Sphinx was created.

The empty wieght of a 747 is under 400,000 lbs. Boeing 747 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Per that wikipedia site max takoff weight is over 400 tons.

The point was that clearly the statement tha the Sphinx weighs 200 tons is way, way off from reality. A rock that is 5 ft x 5 ft x 4 ft weighs about 200 tons.

I was actually tying to point out that a 747 isn't twice that weight, it is 200 tons or 400,000 lbs.