The head, which has a markedly different texture from the body, and shows far less severe erosion, is a naturally occurring outcrop of harder stone. A far greater age for the Sphinx has been suggested by R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz, based upon geological considerations.
Geologists agree that in the distant past Egypt was subjected to severe flooding.
Wind erosion cannot take place when the body of the Sphinx is covered by sand, and it can be proved that the Sphinx has been in this condition for nearly all of the last five thousand years - since the alleged time of its 4th Dynasty construction. Furthermore, if wind-blown sand had indeed caused the deep erosion of the Sphinx, we would expect to find evidence of such erosion on other Egyptian monuments built of similar materials and exposed to the wind for a similar length of time. Yet the fact of the matter is, that even on structures that have had more exposure to the wind-blown sand, there are minimal effects of erosion, the sand having done little more than scour clean the surface of the dressed stones. Quite simply, this means the Sphinx was carved before Egypt was inundated with the waters of the great Ice Age floods, and that those waters caused the unique erosion patterns on the Sphinx. Additional evidence for the great age of the Sphinx may perhaps be indicated by the astronomical significance of its shape, being that of a lion.