Two Sphinxes

There's an interesting story in the Daily News Egypt, about an Egyptologist claiming that there were originally two Sphinxes on the Giza Plateau:

El Shammaa pointed out that the Dream Stela carved by Thutmosis IV clearly depicted two sphinxes. The inventory Stela exhibited at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo did the same. The display showed that King Cheops — builder of the Great Pyramid — had undertaken the task of restoring the damage to the Sphinx’s neck caused by lightening.

“Examination of the Sphinx revealed that damage in its neck, matching the measurements mentioned in the inventory Stela, had been restored. But we also discover that, besides the Sphinx’s neck, the lightening destroyed a sycamore tree as well as an object between the tree and the Sphinx whose remains have settled behind the Valley Temple.

“The Endeavor Satellite released by Nasa over the Pyramids Plateau confirmed the finding. But it makes a lot of sense that lightening could have damaged the Sphinx because the statue was often depicted wearing a double metal crown that must have conducted the shock to the neck,” stated El Shammaa.

It's an idea that I've casually contemplated previously, based on the fact that a number of Egyptian depictions of Sphinxes (though not necessarily that of Giza) show two, rather than one. Please note however that I'm unsure of the background of this particular Egyptologist - in any case, you can find more information at his website on the 'Second Sphinx Theory'.