A team of Italian researchers claim to have solved a 4,500-year-old mystery by discovering a second Sphinx lying buried directly opposite the famous lion-bodied monument in Egypt.

They assert that a vital clue to its existence was carved into stone, nestled between the original Sphinx’s paws on the Giza Plateau, close to the Great Pyramids.

An ancient slab known as the ‘Dream Stele’ appears to depict not one, but two sphinxes standing guard over the pyramids in perfect mirror symmetry.

Engineer Filippo Biondi and his team have employed remote-sensing technology to detect subtle ground signals and trace geometric lines from the Pyramids of Khafre and Khufu, maintaining that they point to a ‘small mountain’ of sand in the vicinity.

The team insists the sand is concealing not bedrock, but rather an enormous carved structure beneath the surface, reports the Daily Star.

Initial readings, they contend, reveal dense vertical features and horizontal passages that mirror known shafts and tunnels beneath the existing Sphinx.

According to Biondi, he is 80% certain of the discovery and confirms that the researchers have drawn up a formal proposal to submit to Egyptian authorities, identifying potential entry points between the Great Sphinx and the Pyramid of Khafre.

One substantial shaft, allegedly obstructed by debris, could prove to be the key to uncovering a far broader hidden network beneath Giza, he revealed on the Matt Beall Limitless podcast.

However, convincing the authorities may prove considerably more challenging. Celebrated Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass, the former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, has consistently dismissed talk of a ‘second Sphinx’, arguing the area has been thoroughly investigated for decades without any supporting evidence.

Hawass was equally sceptical of an earlier assertion by Biondi last year that a secret underground city existed beneath the Pyramid of Khafre in Giza.

He stated the idea was “completely wrong and has no scientific basis”, describing the use of radar as “false” and that the techniques were “not scientifically approved nor validated”.