Taharqo's sphinx is a very sophisticated piece of political imagery, for it's not just a mix of north and south, it also combines the present with the long distant past. The Sphinx of Taharqo is very small and can fit in a small glass cabinet. The form of the lion’s mane and his ears closely resemble elements found on ancient Egyptian sphinxes as far back as the 12th Dynasty, about a thousand years before this sphinx was made. The Sphinx of Taharqo is named after Taharqo of Kush who dominated Egypt between 747 and 656 BC. Taharqo built and enlarged temples of Amun across his enormous realm. Kawa, known as Gematon, was probably fou

From temple T at Kawa, Sudan. This and other ram sphinxes lined a processional avenue leading up to the temple of Amun at Kawa.

Taharqo’s sphinx is a more sophisticated piece of political imagery than just a mix of north and south; it also combines the present with the long-distant past. If you were to ask which country the River Nile belongs to, most people would immediately say Egypt. 25th Dynasty, reign of Taharqo, circa 690-664 BCE. It was found around the year of 680 BC. (The British Museum, London). The Sphinx of Taharqo was found in Temple T at Kawa, in Upper Nubia which is in Sudan. The sphinx of Taharqo was one of the most spectacular finds of the Oxford Excavation Committee’s excavations at the town of Kawa between 1929 and 1931. Sphinx of Taharqo (made around 680 BC) found in Temple T at Kawa, northern Sudan.