A number of shafts or tunnels are known to exist within or below the body of Great Sphinx at Giza. Some are of known origin but others are not. These cavities were created over a period of thousands of years until very recently, by the people re-carving the giant Sphinx of Giza, treasure hunters and others. Documented examples include a shaft on the Sphinx’s back, another near the tail, and possible voids beneath the paws and body. While the purpose and origin of many of these features remain uncertain, they have sparked considerable scholarly debate and public speculation, ranging from functional explanations—such as drainage or maintenance access—to unverified claims of hidden chambers or lost archives. At least three other shafts, one at the top of the Sphinx's head and two on it's flanks are known to exist.

In 1978-1998 CE, Zahi Hawass, Chief Director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Mark Lehner undertook excavations beneath the main body of the Sphinx at Giza and rediscovered access tunnels to several large, apparently natural, caves directly under the Sphinx. There was evidence of earlier ancient excavations.

Numerous ideas have been suggested to explain or reinterpret the origin and identity of the Sphinx, its architecture and that of the cavaties and tunnels inside it, that lack sufficient evidential support and/or are contradicted by such, and are therefore considered part of pseudohistory and pseudoarchaeology. And there is a long history of speculation about hidden chambers beneath the Sphinx, its connection with the "ancient aliens or astronauts", "advanced technology", and its possible connection with "Atlantis".

circa 2500 BCE

Perring's Hole
The so-called "Perring's Hole" is a drilled shaft on the back of the Great Sphinx, just behind its head. The hole, now filled up, lies approximately 4 feet behind the head. It was made by Howard Vyse in 1837 CE and has been dubbed Perring's Hole after his engineer. Seeking chambers, Vyse bored a hole reaching to a depth of 27 feet when the drill rod became stuck. At the time, he tried using gunpowder to remove the rod, but gave up so as not to do further damage to the Sphinx. The cavity Vyse created was cleared in 1978 CE by Zahi Hawass, and inside it he found a part of the Sphinx's headdress.

circa 2500 BCE

Hole in the Sphinx's Head
An approximately 6 feet deep shaft exists on the top of the Sphinx's head. It has been hypothesized that this hole in sphinx's head most likely was used to affix a headdress or crown or some sort. It may have been initially created sometime during the New Kingdom period (circa 1550-1070 BCE). This is known from a number of New Kingdom stelae, including the Dream Stele (inspect), depicting the Sphinx wearing a crown. If a headdress or crown in fact existed, the hole could have been the anchoring point for it. However, there's no direct archaeological evidence to support this.

Over time, it was deepened in search of hidden chambers, tunnels or even treasure. A number of accounts have documented the existance of a hole in the sphinx's head, during the early modern and modern periods.

The earlist mention of a hole in sphinx's head dates back to the mid sixteenth century CE. Johann Helffrich, who visited the Sphinx during his travels in 1565–1566 CE, describes that a priest went into the head of the Sphinx, and when he spoke it was as if the Sphinx itself was speaking.

Around 1798 CE, Vivant Denon (French artist and writer) etched an image of the sphinx (inspect) depicting a small party of men atop the sphinx's head. Although he hadn't depicted the sphinx in correct proportions, or remotely accurately. However, he no doubt knew that there was a hole on the top of its head as he had drawn an image of a man being pulled out. In mid 1920s, when Emile Baraize explored and documented the Sphinx, one of Raphael Giveon's photographs, depict a man standing inside the sphinx's head (inspect).

Baraize paved the head-shaft (shaft A) with cement and installed a trap-door on the top of the Sphinx's head in 1926 CE. This door or hatch is still visible today. The hole measures approximately 5 feet square and nearly 6 feet deep.

circa 2500 BCE

Shaft C: Natural Fissure
The "shaft C" (inspect), located near the middle of the back of the great sphinx of Giza. Today, it is in the form of a square shaft, with a dead-end.

The natural fissure "shaft C" in the bedrock cuts through the waist of the Sphinx. It measures up to 2 metres (6.6 feet) in width. The sides of the fissure seem to have been artificially squared; however, the bottom is irregular bedrock, about 1 metre (3.3 feet) above the outside floor. A very narrow crack continues deeper. The two sides of the shaft are of brick and mortar masonry. Zahi Hawass can be seen in one of the videos, walking towards this major natural fissure (inspect). Emile Baraize, in 1926 CE, sealed the sides and roofed it with iron bars, limestone and cement, and installed an iron trap door at the top.

circa 2500 BCE

Shaft D: Rump Passage or Shaft
In 1980 Zahi Hawass and Mark Lehner opened this passage (Shaft D) on the floor level in the north-west hind part of the sphinx. This was initially reported by Mohammed Abd al-Mawgud Fayed, who had worked as a boy with the 1926 clearing of the Sphinx by Emile Baraize, engineer for the Antiquities Service. This passage descends to the water table below the sphinx. One part of the passage winds down under the Sphinx before it comes to a dead end about 4.5 meters below floor level.

The Shaft D in the north-west passage would be a open trench in the upward curve of the rump except that it is covered by the layers of ancient restoration stones. In 1980-81, it was found that the lower part did indeed come to the water table, and just above this point the debris contained modern items - glass, cement, tin foil etc. The passage is crudely cut, its sides are not straight, but there are cup-shaped foot-holds along the sides. It looks like an exploratory shaft.

circa 2500 BCE

Eastern Shaft
The "eastern-shaft" (identify) lies between the Thutmose IV Dream Stele and the chest of the Sphinx. An iron trap door or grate fitted to the ground covers the shafts. This is not a passage but rather a somewhat rectangular pit that was covered with a cement roof and iron beam then sealed with a trap door by the French egyptologist Émile Baraize as a part of his restoration efforts in the 1920s CE. No known photos or images exist of this.

circa 2500 BCE

Key-hole Shaft
Another known cavity is the so-called key-hole-shaft, in the Giza Sphinx enclosure but not connected with the Sphinx itself. The so-called Key-hole Shaft is in the floor of the enclosure under the north ledge of the wall, just opposite the north hind paw. The passage measures about 4.5 feet by 3.5 feet and is just over 6 feet deep. A large piece of basalt, with one side finished smooth, was found inside the shaft. It is likely that the passage was meant to be a tomb but was never completed.

circa 2500 BCE

Hall of Records
The Hall of Records is allegedly a library buried under the Great Sphinx in the Giza pyramid complex. It is rumored to house the knowledge of the Egyptians in papyrus scrolls, much as the Great Library of Alexandria housed Grecian knowledge. There is debate as to whether the Hall actually exists or not, but all excavation in the area has so far yielded little or no results.