{"id":3945,"date":"2026-04-21T08:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/?p=3945"},"modified":"2026-04-21T06:00:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T11:00:05","slug":"an-italian-researcher-says-the-giza-plateau-may-be-hiding-a-second-sphinx-and-that-claim-could-reopen-one-of-archaeologys-biggest-obsessions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/an-italian-researcher-says-the-giza-plateau-may-be-hiding-a-second-sphinx-and-that-claim-could-reopen-one-of-archaeologys-biggest-obsessions\/3945\/","title":{"rendered":"An Italian researcher says the Giza Plateau may be hiding a second Sphinx, and that claim could reopen one of archaeology\u2019s biggest obsessions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A new claim is rippling through social media and podcast clips that a second Great Sphinx may be buried under the sands of Egypt\u2019s Giza Plateau. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Italian researcher <a href=\"https:\/\/strathprints.strath.ac.uk\/view\/author\/1383597.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Filippo Biondi<\/a> says satellite radar scans point to a mirrored location across from the known Sphinx, with underground features he interprets as shafts and passages, and he has described his confidence as \u201cabout 80%.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is an attention-grabbing idea, but it is not the same thing as confirmed archaeology. Right now, there has been no publicly announced excavation, no peer-reviewed paper validating a second Sphinx, and Egypt\u2019s authorities have not confirmed any discovery, which is why many archaeologists and geophysics experts are urging people to slow down before hitting \u201cshare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is actually being claimed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Biondi laid out his case in a March 26 podcast appearance, saying the scans suggest a buried structure that could match the scale of the existing monument. Reports describe a sand mound at the proposed site rising to about 108 feet, and Biondi says the shapes in his data appear to mirror patterns seen near the known Sphinx.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A key part of the pitch is geometry. He argues that alignments between the pyramids and the current Sphinx can be \u201cmirrored\u201d to point to a second location on the plateau, where the mound sits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-element-a00da4e5\">\n<div><div class=\"gb-looper-46613eed\">\n<div class=\"gb-loop-item gb-loop-item-a8390598 post-3912 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-military resize-featured-image\">\n<h4 class=\"gb-text gb-text-24a51617\">Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/japan-is-grounding-its-combat-helicopters-for-robots-with-missiles-and-the-real-shock-is-that-one-military-era-is-being-shut-down-on-purpose\/3912\/\">Japan is grounding its combat helicopters for robots with missiles, and the real shock is that one military era is being shut down on purpose<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Supporters also point to the \u201cDream Stele,\u201d an ancient stone slab placed between the Sphinx\u2019s paws around 1400 BC, which appears to show two sphinx figures in its carved imagery. That detail has fueled \u201ctwin Sphinx\u201d speculation for years, even though many Egyptologists interpret the imagery as symbolic and note the text does not describe a second statue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why the tech sounds plausible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The story has traction partly because radar and satellites feel like modern magic. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earthdata.nasa.gov\/learn\/earth-observation-data-basics\/sar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)<\/a> is real, widely used, and extremely capable in its own lane, from mapping terrain through clouds to tracking surface changes over time, which is a reason it is heavily used in national security, disaster response, and infrastructure monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biondi has also published work proposing that SAR data can be processed in unconventional ways. In a 2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2208.00811\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">preprint<\/a>, Biondi and Corrado Malanga describe a method based on analyzing \u201cmicro movements\u201d in the Great Pyramid area generated by background seismic waves, using a series of SAR images from Italy\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/COSMO-SkyMed-Mission-and-Products-Description_rev3-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">COSMO SkyMed<\/a> satellite system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That is a big reason this debate is more complicated than \u201cpodcast nonsense\u201d versus \u201chidden truth.\u201d The same remote sensing toolbox that can find subtle changes in the ground can also produce patterns that look meaningful, especially when a researcher is hunting for symmetry and the public is hungry for a mystery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where critics push back hardest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The simplest objection is procedural and it matters. Archaeology is not a comments section \u2013 it is permits, controlled fieldwork, and documentation, and multiple fact checks have emphasized that no excavation has been announced and no peer-reviewed study has validated the second Sphinx claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is also a long-running credibility problem in the background. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawasszahi.com\/news\/a-statement-from-dr-zahi-hawass-re-the-khafre-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hawass<\/a>, a prominent Egyptologist and former minister of antiquities, has publicly rejected earlier viral claims tied to similar \u201cmegastructure\u201d narratives around Giza, saying they lacked scientific evidence and that no permits had been issued for work inside the Pyramid of Khafre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-element-a1fe24a4\">\n<div><div class=\"gb-looper-fb19560f\">\n<div class=\"gb-loop-item gb-loop-item-167ee72e post-3860 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-energy resize-featured-image\">\n<h4 class=\"gb-text gb-text-0e8d1552\">Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/what-china-wants-from-nuclear-power-is-bigger-than-electricity-because-this-reactor-surge-is-being-built-to-harden-factories-data-and-autonomy\/3860\/\">What China wants from nuclear power is bigger than electricity, because this reactor surge is being built to harden factories, data, and autonomy<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In one statement, he wrote that the rumors were \u201cfabrications\u201d and added that the base of Khafre\u2019s pyramid was carved from bedrock to about 8 meters, which is about 26 feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then there is the physics question. Experts quoted in media coverage note that <a href=\"https:\/\/clu-in.org\/characterization\/technologies\/default2.focus\/sec\/Geophysical_Methods\/cat\/Ground_Penetrating_Radar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ground penetrating radar<\/a> has limits and typically resolves features only a few meters below the surface, which raises doubts about sweeping claims of deep underground \u201ccities\u201d or vast networks without strong corroboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1013\" src=\"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/giza-plateau-sphinx-desert-egypt-second-sphinx-theory.jpg\" alt=\"View of the Great Sphinx of Giza and surrounding desert terrain on the Giza Plateau\" class=\"wp-image-3950\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/giza-plateau-sphinx-desert-egypt-second-sphinx-theory.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/giza-plateau-sphinx-desert-egypt-second-sphinx-theory-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/giza-plateau-sphinx-desert-egypt-second-sphinx-theory-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/giza-plateau-sphinx-desert-egypt-second-sphinx-theory-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/giza-plateau-sphinx-desert-egypt-second-sphinx-theory-150x84.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A view of the Great Sphinx on the Giza Plateau, where new theories suggest a possible second structure beneath the sand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The real story is trust, not treasure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is what makes this more than an archaeology argument. Satellite sensing is a serious business, and the public is learning about it in real time through viral content, not through technical briefings, which can blur the difference between \u201cwe saw an anomaly\u201d and \u201cwe found a monument.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That gap matters for companies and institutions that depend on confidence in remote sensing, including commercial satellite providers, analytics firms, and government agencies that use radar imagery for everything from shipping monitoring to battlefield mapping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the average viewer walks away thinking radar \u201csees\u201d statues under sand the same way an X-ray sees bones, expectations get warped fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It also creates incentives that are hard to ignore. A single dramatic claim can flood a feed, drive podcast downloads, and pull attention away from slower, more careful work, even when the careful work is the only kind that holds up years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What a credible test would look like<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If there is something under that mound, the path forward is not another clip \u2013 it is a transparent method and independent verification. That usually means sharing data processing details, error estimates, and alternative explanations, then pairing the remote sensing with authorized on-site geophysical surveys and, only if warranted, a controlled excavation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Egypt tightly regulates archaeological work in restricted zones, and that is not just a talking point. A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-025-23113-9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Scientific Reports<\/em> <\/a>paper on noninvasive geophysical imaging in Egypt explicitly thanks the Supreme Council of Antiquities for granting permission to conduct surveys in restricted archaeological areas, which gives a sense of how formal the process is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-element-e510097b\">\n<div><div class=\"gb-looper-0264ac2d\">\n<div class=\"gb-loop-item gb-loop-item-230ec1d4 post-3815 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-technology resize-featured-image\">\n<h4 class=\"gb-text gb-text-8cd9d59b\">Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/anthropic-is-setting-off-all-the-alarms-its-new-ai-is-so-powerful-that-it-doesnt-plan-to-let-you-use-it\/3815\/\">Anthropic is setting off all the alarms \u2013 its new AI is so powerful that it doesn&#8217;t plan to let you use it<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There are also established examples of careful, instrument-driven scanning at Giza. One <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2503.21959\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2025 arXiv paper<\/a> describes the ScIDEP collaboration building muon telescopes to investigate the internal structure of the Pyramid of Khafre using cosmic-ray muons, scanning from multiple viewpoints inside and outside the pyramid to identify potential new structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That kind of work shows what \u201ctech meets archaeology\u201d looks like when it is built to be tested, not just talked about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of the day, the Giza Plateau does not need a second Sphinx to be astonishing. But if a claim is going to rewrite the history books, it has to survive the boring steps, the kind that do not trend.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The official episode page was published on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/lk\/podcast\/filippo-biondi-breaking-news-second-sphinx-found-under\/id1712917413?i=1000757521953\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Apple Podcasts<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new claim is rippling through social media and podcast clips that a second Great Sphinx may be buried under &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"An Italian researcher says the Giza Plateau may be hiding a second Sphinx, and that claim could reopen one of archaeology\u2019s biggest obsessions\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/an-italian-researcher-says-the-giza-plateau-may-be-hiding-a-second-sphinx-and-that-claim-could-reopen-one-of-archaeologys-biggest-obsessions\/3945\/#more-3945\" aria-label=\"Read more about An Italian researcher says the Giza Plateau may be hiding a second Sphinx, and that claim could reopen one of archaeology\u2019s biggest obsessions\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","resize-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3945"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3984,"href":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3945\/revisions\/3984"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indux.vozpopuli.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}