Members of the Operation ScanPyramids project team are stunned after having discovered two hidden chambers in the Great Pyramid of Giza. These “cavities” or “voids” have been discovered in the new scans of Egypt’s largest pyramid, and according to researchers, these chambers were previously never found in the Great Pyramid of Giza.
However, the Egyptian antiquities ministry in its statement has urged caution, stating that there are “anomalies” in the new data gathered and the supposed voids are not necessarily rooms or sizeable voids.
The Great Pyramid of Giza—one of the most iconic man-made structures—were constructed about 4,500 years ago for King Khufu. This 480-ft high structure is today considered as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. There are three known chambers in the structure, which like other Egyptian pyramids was intended as a pharaoh’s tomb.
“We are now able to confirm the existence of a ‘void’ hidden behind the north face, that could have the form of at least one corridor going inside the Great Pyramid,” scientists said in a statement.
“The precise shape, size, and exact position of this void is now under further investigation. It should be done with the help of 12 new Muon Emulsion plates that are installed in the descending corridor, and will be collected by the end of October 2016.”
According to researchers, an additional “cavity” was also found on the pyramid’s north-east flank.
Operation ScanPyramids commenced last October to search hidden rooms inside the Khufu and Khafre pyramids in Giza, and the Bent and Red pyramids in Dashur. This collaborative project involves several scientific institutes, universities, and private companies. The team has been using a variety of non-destructive, non-invasive techniques, including muon radiography imaging, infrared thermography, and 3D reconstruction to scan these structures. .
According to the team, muons can “can go through hundreds of meters of stone before being absorbed.”
“Judiciously placed detectors — for example inside a pyramid, below a potential, unknown chamber — can then record particle tracks and discern cavities from denser regions,” the team said.
Researcher Mehdi Tayoubi, while talking to Discovery News earlier this year described the muography technique: “Just like X-rays pass through our bodies allowing us to visualize our skeleton, these elementary particles, weighing around 200 times more than electrons, can very easily pass through any structure, even large and thick rocks, such as mountains.”
Earlier this year, Hany Helal, vice president of Heritage Innovation Preservation Institute (HIPI), said: “For the construction of the pyramids, there is no single theory that is 100 per cent proven or checked; they are all theories and hypotheses.”
“What we are trying to do with the new technology, we would like to either confirm or change or upgrade or modify the hypotheses that we have on how the pyramids were constructed.”
However, the Antiquities Ministry suggests that more tests are required to confirm the existence of the room, and to determine their size and function.
The oversight team, employed by the Ministry, has recommended extending the Scan Pyramids project for one more year to gather additional data. Former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass is heading this team, and it also includes many Egyptologists with decades of experience.
“The core [of the pyramid] has big and small stones, and this can show hollows everywhere,” Mr Hawass told Live Science.
According to him, the results obtained by the Scan Pyramid team may be the result of stones of different sizes used in the Great Pyramid and may not actually be sizeable voids.
The oversight team “asked for more work to know the size and the function” of the anomalies, Mr Hawass said.
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