GUADALUPE (AP) — Archaeologists working in sand dunes on the central California coast have dug up an intact plaster sphinx that was part of an Egyptian movie set built more than 90 years ago for filming of Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 epic “The Ten Commandments.”
The 300-pound sphinx is the second recovered from the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes.
In 1923, pioneer filmmaker Cecil. B. DeMille built the largest set in movie history in the dunes near Guadalupe, CA, for his silent (and early Technicolor) epic, The Ten Commandments. It was called “The City of the Pharaoh.” After filming was complete, DeMille ordered that the entire set be dismantled… and secretly buried in the dunes. And there it lay, forgotten, for the next 60 years and it still sits there, buried in the sand, known as the “Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille.” At the Dunes Center, in Guadalupe, CA, we have a unique and fascinating exhibit featuring a variety of artifacts from the both the set and the people who were working on the production. We feature a short film on the recovery effort of the set, the people involved in that process and have information, including a booklet focused on the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes film history.
Dunes Center Executive Director Doug Jenzen tells KEYT-TV it’s unlike other items found on previous digs because most of it is preserved with the original paint intact.
DeMille’s set included more than 20 sphinxes. After the filming DeMille ordered everything buried in the dunes 175 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
They lay undisturbed for decades before recovery efforts began. The newly recovered sphinx is expected to go on display at the dunes museum next summer.
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