places Categories: Attractions and City Sightseeing
The Balochistan Sphinx is routinely passed off by journalists as a natural formation, although no archaeological survey appears to have been conducted on the site. If we explore the features of the structure, as well as its surrounding complex, it becomes difficult to accept the oft-repeated premise that it has been shaped by natural forces. Rather, the site looks like a gigantic, rock-cut, architectural complex.
A cursory glance at the impressive sculpture shows the Sphinx to have a well-defined jawline, and clearly discernible facial features such as eyes, nose, and mouth, which are placed in seemingly perfect proportion to each other.
The Sphinx appears to be decked up in a head-dress that closely resembles the Nemes head-dress of the Egyptian pharaoh. The Nemes headdress is a striped head-cloth that covers the crown and back of the head. It has two large, conspicuous, flaps which hang down behind the ears and in front of the shoulders. The ear-flaps can be discerned on the Balochistan Sphinx, as well as some stripe marks. The Sphinx has a horizontal groove across its forehead, which corresponds to the pharaonic headband that holds the Nemes headdress in place.
One can easily make out the contours of the reclining forelegs of the Sphinx, which terminate in very well-defined paws. It is difficult to see how nature could have carved out a statue that resembles a well-known mythical animal to such an astonishingly accurate degree.
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