An immense white sheet, sprangled with golden stars, slid from the shoulders of the 4,500-year-old monument yesterday to reveal it in all its new splendour.

The one-and-a-half hour ceremony was hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Federico Mayor, the Director General of UNESCO, which supervised the repair work.

``After this magnificent restoration, the Sphinx embarks on a new journey -- the sphinx was built in the material of eternity, it was built for the future and set here an enigma... Looking east where the sun rises,'' Mayor said.

Archaeologists hope the unveiling will mark the end of the Sphinx's longstanding reputation as the world's oldest ``sick'' monument, plagued by fissures which appeared soon after it was constructed.

The face of the Sphinx, which represents the Egyptian Pharaoh Khephren and is surmounted by a Cobra, has been not been touched atall by the restorers.