[Illustration: PLATE XX. The Great Pyramid and Sphinx.] [Illustration: Section of the Great Pyramid of Gîzah, built by Khufu (Cheops), showing the internal passages and chambers, and the underground corridor and sarcophagus chamber.] During the reign of Khufu a large number of fine tombs were built round about the Great Pyramid, and in some of them fine monolithic sarcophagi were placed. An excellent idea of this class of monument may be gained from an examination of the cast of the =sarcophagus of Khufu-ānkh= (Egyptian Vestibule, No. =19=). Here, because the monument is associated with the name of Khufu in the inscription of Thothmes IV, must be mentioned the =Sphinx=, in Egyptian Ḥu 𓎛𓅱𓬖. The early history of this wonderful man-headed lion is unknown, but it seems that some work upon the rock out of which it was fashioned was undertaken by Khufu. Under the XIIth dynasty the headdress, called _nemmes_, was cut, and it is possible that an attempt was made to give the face some resemblance to that of Ȧmen-em-ḥāt III, or one of his predecessors, about the same time. At a later period the Sphinx was identified with Rā-Harmachis, probably under the influence of an ancient tradition which connected it with the Sun-god. It is 150 feet long and 70 feet high; the head is 30 feet long and the face 14 feet wide. Originally the face was painted a bright red, and traces of the colour are still visible. Traditions and superstitions have gathered about it in all ages, and it is probable that the rock out of which it was made was regarded with veneration in primitive times. In the Middle Ages the natives believed that the Sphinx kept the sands of the Western Desert from swallowing up the village of Gîzah. A portion of the painted limestone =uraeus=, or asp, =from the forehead= and a portion of the =beard of the Sphinx= are exhibited in the Egyptian Vestibule, Nos. =20= and =21=. [Illustration: King Khāfrā (Chephren).]