(3 Apr 2006)
1. Wide of pyramid, pan to Sphinx
2. Various of scientists working on its restoration
3. Close up of Sphinx's head
4. Close up of Sphinx's ear
5. Various angles and details of Sphinx parts that need restoration
6. Various of workers
7. Zahi Hawas, head of Supreme Council of Antiquities, being helped to climb up scaffolding
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Zahi Hawas, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities:
"The Sphinx is the oldest patient in the world. The Sphinx suffered a lot. From bad restoration, from erosion. And we cannot cover the Sphinx, and therefore the worst thing that (has) happened to the Sphinx before was actually restoring the Sphinx with cement. The Sphinx is like a human being. When you put cement on the body of the Sphinx, it stops the breathing of the limestone. And also they did put large restoration to change the proportion of the Sphinx in 1988. The Sphinx lost its right shoulder. It was like the red flag (meaning a warning sign) that we have to restore the Sphinx correctly."
9. Wide of Sphinx
10. Medium shot of Sphinx's head
11. Various of workers
12. Wide of pyramid and Sphinx
13. Various of tourists walking to Sphinx
STORYLINE:
Scientists in Egypt on Monday started the restoration of the Great Sphinx of Giza.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities is carrying out the work, with scientists hoping to rectify what they call previous mistakes in the restoration of the monument.
Zahi Hawas, the head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the Sphinx had suffered the greatest damage when restoration workers used cement to the half-man, half-lion statue in the Eighties.
"The Sphinx is like a human being, when you put cement on the body of the Sphinx, it stops the breathing of the limestone", he said, stressing that this time it was was important to "restore the Sphinx correctly."
The work is to focus on the neck and chest of the Sphinx, that have suffered from erosion and desert winds.
The statue was carved out of the surrounding limestone and is believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians in the third millennium BC.
The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the largest single-stone statues on Earth.
It is 57 metres (260 feet) long, 6 metres (20 ft) wide, and 20 metres tall (65 ft).
The last restoration work was undertaken in 1996.
keyword-archaeology
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