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An Ancient Sphinx That Turned Out To Be Not So Ancient

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep with an archaeological find. People working in sand dunes in Northern California found the sphinx. It's made of plaster, weighs 300 pounds and looks like the sphinx in Egypt. Instead of thousands of years old, it's 90.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

That means it's a fake, right?

INSKEEP: Yes, but it was used in the Cecil B. DeMille movie "The Ten Commandments."

MARTIN: Oh, so it's a real fake.

INSKEEP: Yes. When filming was over in 1923, Cecil B. DeMille had all the sets buried for later generations to find. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Steve Inskeep is a host of NPR's Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
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