Sphinx and Pyramid photographed by Antonio Beato, Egypt, circa 1860. Albumen print. The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx (a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head) that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. It is the largest monolith statue in the world, standing 241 feet long, 63 feet wide, 66 feet high. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture, and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the Pharaoh Khafra (2558-2532 BC). The Pyramid of Khafre, is the second tallest and second largest of the ancient Egyptian Pyramids of Giza and the tomb of the fourth dynasty Pharaoh Khafre. The pyramid has a base length of 706 feet and rises to a height of 448 feet (originally 471 feet).