A thousand-year-old sphinx statue in a Tang Dynasty tomb.

Scientists have discovered a sphinx statue dating back over 1,000 years in an ancient Tang Dynasty tomb in northwestern China.

A white marble sphinx statue in China. Photo: Shanghai Daily.

According to Shanghai Daily, the exquisitely carved statue, depicting a human head atop a lion, is 36 cm tall. It was unearthed along with eight other statues of warriors, horses, camels, and lions in late November in Guyuan, a city in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

The tomb is one of 29 ancient tombs in the area, where archaeologists have been excavating since the beginning of last year before the construction of the water treatment plant. They found more than 150 burial artifacts, including statues, pottery, bronze and iron objects. The owners of the tomb were Liu Jun and his wife, who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

According to preliminary research, the sphinx statue, made of white marble, is intact except for minor damage to its face. The statues in the tomb demonstrate outstanding sculpting talent, according to Fan Jun, head of the excavation team from the Ningxia Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics.

"The sculptural style has characteristics typical of Western styles and is rarely seen in ancient Chinese tombs from the same period," Fan said. White marble is also rarely found in northern China.

The Sphinx originated in Egypt 5,000 years ago. The colossal Egyptian Sphinx is located on the west bank of the Nile River near the Great Pyramid of Giza.

While sphinx statues are also found in southern and Southeast Asia, their discovery in northern China is quite unusual. The prehistoric range of lions did not extend to northern China. The statue may indicate the influence of the Silk Road near Ningxia. Excavations at the tomb will help researchers better understand the flow of goods during the Tang Dynasty.

According to VnExpress