Thousand-year sphinx statue in the tomb of Tang Dynasty

Scientists found a sphinx statue dating back more than 1,000 years in the ancient Tang tomb in northwestern China.

According to Shanghai Daily, the statue has a delicate touch with a head of a human being placed on a lion, 36 cm high. The statue was unearthed along with 8 warrior statues, horses, camels and lions at the end of November in the Former Yuan, a city of the Autonomous Region of the Ningxia Xia.

The tomb is among the 29 ancient tombs in the area, where archaeologists excavated it from the beginning of the year before building a water plant. They found more than 150 burial objects, including statues, ceramics, bronze and iron. The owner of the tomb is Liu Jun and his wife, who lived in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

White marble monk statue in China.(Photo: Shanghai Daily).

According to preliminary research, the Sphinx is made of intact white marble except for minor damage on the face. The statues in the grave show excellent sculpting talents, according to Fan Jun, head of the excavation team of the Archeology Institute and Ninh Ha Cultural Site.

"The sculpting style has features from the West and is very rare in ancient Chinese tombs in the same period, " Fan said. White marble is also rarely present in northern China.

The image of the sphinx was born in Egypt 5,000 years ago. The giant Egyptian sphinx statue is located on the west bank of the Nile near the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Although the sphinx is also present in southern and Southeast Asia, discoveries in northern China are quite strange. The prehistoric lion's range of living does not include northern China. Maybe the statue said the influence of Silk Road near Ninh Ha. Excavation at the grave will help researchers better understand goods circulation during the Tang Dynasty.