Xenoarchaeologists and Regular Archaeologists in Bitter Turf War Over Egyptian Site

The discovery of a previously unknown chamber beneath the Great Sphinx of Giza has ignited a jurisdictional dispute between the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Archaeology and its Department of Xenoarchaeology, with each claiming exclusive rights to excavate based on irreconcilable interpretations of what might be inside. The chamber was detected by ground-penetrating radar last October. Conventional archaeologists believe it contains artifacts from the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. Xenoarchaeologists believe it contains artifacts from a pre-human alien visitation. Both departments have filed excavation permits. Both have been denied pending resolution of the dispute. 'The Sphinx is an archaeological site,' said Dr. Patricia Shaw of the Archaeology Department. 'It was built by Egyptians, for Egyptian purposes, using Egyptian engineering. There is nothing xenoarchaeological about it.' 'The Sphinx has the body of a lion and the head of a human,' countered Dr. Omar Hassan of the Xenoarchaeology Department. 'That's a chimera. Chimeras are a classic xenobiological indicator. The chamber probably contains hybrid genetic material.' 'It's a statue,' said Dr. Shaw. 'It's a statement,' said Dr. Hassan. The dispute has spilled into faculty meetings, where the two departments now sit on opposite sides of the room and communicate through written notes delivered by graduate students. The university provost has attempted mediation, proposing a joint excavation, but both departments rejected the offer on the grounds that sharing a dig site would legitimize the other's 'pseudoscience.' Egyptian authorities have grown impatient. The Supreme Council of Antiquities issued a statement reading, in its entirety: 'It is our Sphinx. We will excavate it. You are both welcome to observe from behind the rope.' Neither department has responded. Both are reportedly drafting appeals.