Ancient Egyptian king's unique sphinx found in Israel

Archaeologists have unearthed part of a unique Sphinx belonging to an ancient Egyptian king - one of the builders of Giza pyramids - in northern Israel, leaving researchers puzzled how the fragment ended up buried there.
Researchers, working with a team from the Institute of Archaeology, discovered the fragments of a Sphinx brought over from Egypt, with a hieroglyphic inscription between its front legs.
The inscription bears the name of the Egyptian king Mycerinus, who ruled in the third millennium BCE, more than 4,000 years ago. The king was one of the builders of the famous Giza pyramids.
The excavations at a site in Tel Hazor National Park, north of the Sea of Galilee, were headed by Professor Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr Sharon Zuckerman from the Hebrew University.

As the only known Sphinx of this king discovered anywhere in the world - including in Egypt - the find at Hazor is an unexpected and important discovery. Moreover, it is only piece of a royal Sphinx sculpture discovered in the entire Levant area (the eastern part of the Mediterranean).
Along with the king's name, the hieroglyphic inscription includes the descriptor "Beloved by the divine manifestation that gave him eternal life."

According to researchers, this text indicates that the Sphinx probably originated in the ancient city of Heliopolis, north of modern Cairo.
The Sphinx was discovered in the destruction layer of Hazor that was destroyed during the 13th century BC, at the entrance to the city palace.

Archaeologists said it is highly unlikely that the Sphinx was brought to Hazor during the time of Mycerinus, since there is no record of any relationship between Egypt and Israel in the third millennium BC.
More likely, the statue was brought to Israel in the second millennium BC during the dynasty of the kings known as the Hyksos, who originated in Canaan.
It could also have arrived during the 15th to 13th centuries BC, when Canaan was under Egyptian rule, as a gift from an Egyptian king to the king of Hazor, which was the most important city in the southern Levant at the time.

Hazor is the largest biblical-era site in Israel, covering some 200 acres, and has been recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, researchers said.