According to Egyptian antiquities officials, a concealed corridor nine metres (30 feet) long has been found close to the Great Pyramid of Giza’s main entrance, and this could lead to future discoveries.
The Scan Pyramids project has been utilising non-invasive technologies to peep within the structure since 2015, including infrared thermography, 3D simulations, and cosmic-ray imaging. The pyramid, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing, was where the discovery was made.
The discovery might shed light on how the pyramid was built and what the gabled limestone building in front of the passageway was used for.
During the time of Pharaoh Khufu, or Cheops, the Great Pyramid was built as a colossal mausoleum in about 2560 BC. Up until the construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1889, it was the tallest man-made building, rising to a height of 146 metres (479 feet), but it is now only 139 metres.
According to Mostafa Waziri, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, the incomplete corridor was probably built to rebalance the weight of the pyramid either around the main entrance, which tourists now use and is located nearly seven metres away, or around another, as of yet undiscovered chamber or space.
It is also believed that five rooms atop the king’s burial chamber in a different section of the pyramid were constructed to distribute the weight of the enormous building. Waziri noted that it was feasible for the pharaoh to have more than one burial chamber.
Cosmic-ray muon radiography was used to find the corridor, and photos of it were recovered by sending a 6mm-thick endoscope from Japan through a small crack in the pyramid’s stones.
The Great Pyramid’s first significant inner structure to be identified since the 19th century was a void that was at least 30 metres long, according to Scan Pyramids researchers, who reported their discovery in 2017.
