Serapeum of Saqqara (664–610 BC) of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty and later used by the Ptolemaic dynasty. The long boulevard leading to the ceremonial site, flanked by 600 sphinxes, likely was built under Nectanebo I, (379/8–361/0 BC) the founder of the thirtieth dynasty (the last native one). The temple was discovered by Auguste Mariette, who had gone to Egypt to collect Coptic-language manuscripts, but later grew interested in the remains of the Saqqara necropolis. In 1850, Mariette found the head of one sphinx sticking out of the shifting desert dunes, cleared the sand and followed the boulevard to the site. After using explosives to
Saqqara Bird which he "suppose[d] was lost," and noted that the Egyptians often placed miniaturized representations of their technology in their tombs. Messiha contended that the Saqqara Bird differs significantly from other statues and models of birds housed in the Cairo museum. According to Messiha, the Saqqara Bird has a vertical stabilizer which is unlike the generally horizontal shape of a real bird's tail. Richard P. Hallion described this fin as "shaped as if the bird had twisted its tail feathers." It is also legless and has wings set at an angle Messiha sees as similar to that of modern aircraft, which