It’s an almost forgotten part of cinema history. One of Hollywood’s first blockbusters, the 1923 classic “The Ten Commandments,” was shot on the Central Coast. But, after the filming, the massive set was left behind in the Guadalupe-Nipomo sand dunes, to be swallowed by the dunes for decades.
A key artifact, the giant head of a sphinx, was recently recovered and will go on public display for the first time this weekend.
In the 1920's, legendary Hollywood Director Cecil B. Demille had a massive, 700 foot long set built in the dunes for the movies. After the movie was completed, the set was basically left in place.
Area residents removed some pieces, but most of the set was reclaimed by the sand dunes. In the 1980's, a documentary filmmaker rediscovered the forgotten bit of history, and over the decades put together expeditions to do excavations, and did a documentary about the artifacts.
The non-profit Dunes Center in Guadalupe picked up the effort, and recently recovered a number of set artifacts, including a sphinx head. On Saturday, the head and other artifacts will go on public display for the first time at the museum, during a 1920's-themed fundraiser.
