The largest ancient sphinx in the Western Hemisphere was on the prowl Wednesday, June 12, for the first time in nearly 100 years.
Philadelphia鈥檚 Penn Museum relocated its 3,000-year-old sphinx of Pharaoh Ramses II from the Egypt gallery, where it had resided since 1926, to a featured location in the museum鈥檚 new entrance hall.
Workers move the 25,000-pound Sphinx of Ramses II at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Wednesday, June 12, 2019.聽 Image: AP/Matt Rourke
Workers used air dollies to painstakingly maneuver the priceless artifact up a specially constructed ramp and through a series of doorways, windows, sharp turns and tight squeezes, a distance of about 250 feet.
The sphinx was as inscrutable as ever throughout. Museum officials, on the other hand, were a little more animated.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been extremely exciting and nerve-wracking, too. I鈥檒l sleep a lot better tonight,鈥� said director Julian Siggers, adding the sphinx was insured for an 鈥渆ye-wateringly high figure.鈥�
The monument, which was carved out of a single block of red granite and has the head of a man and the body of a lion, was unearthed in 1913 by famed British archaeologist Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, whose excavations the museum funded. It was relocated as part of the museum鈥檚 extensive, multi-year makeover.
鈥淲e needed something very powerful right when you walked into this renovated space, and that is when we said, 鈥榃hat a shame we can鈥檛 have the sphinx here. It would be perfect,'鈥� Siggers said. 鈥淭he received wisdom was it was impossible to move.鈥�
The museum鈥檚 unofficial mascot underwent 3D imaging to determine its weight and density so that engineers could determine what would be required to move it.
As predicted, Wednesday鈥檚 journey took several hours. It will be lifted onto its new base Thursday, June 13.
鈥淭his move was so carefully orchestrated,鈥� said associate curator Jennifer Houser Wegner, who co-wrote a book on the sphinx. 鈥淚 felt very confident, knock wood, that things would go according to plan.鈥澛�RGA/JB
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