Egypt reveals a newly discovered chamber inside the Great Pyramid

Egypt reveals a newly discovered chamber inside the Great Pyramid


On Thursday, Egyptian antiquities authorities unveiled a newly discovered, sealed chamber inside one of the Great Pyramids of Giza, outside Cairo, that dates back some 4,500 years.


The passage - on the northern side of the Pyramid of Khufu - was discovered using modern scanning technology. It is 9 meters (nearly 30 feet) long and 2 meters (more than 6 feet) wide and is located above the main entrance to the Pyramid.


Archaeologists need to learn the chamber's function, which cannot be accessed from the outside. In 2017, scientists discovered another closed passage, a room 30 meters long — or about 98 feet — inside Khufu's Pyramid.


Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass and Egypt's Minister of Tourism Ahmed Eissa announced the discovery Thursday at the Pyramid's unveiling ceremony. The Scan Pyramids Project, an international program that uses scans to search new sections of the ancient structure, has been credited with the discovery.


The unveiling ceremony was attended by scientists from the project - which began in 2015.


According to Christian Gross, a professor of non-destructive testing at the Technical University of Munich and a senior project member, various scanning techniques have been deployed to locate the chamber, including ultrasound measurements and ground penetrating radar. He hopes that these techniques will lead to more results inside the Pyramid.


"There are two large limestones at the end of the room," Gross said, "and the question now is what is behind these stones and at the bottom of the room."


Khufu Pyramid: Named after its builder, the fourth dynasty pharaoh ruled from 2509 to 2483 BC. - It is one of the three pyramids that make up the Great Pyramids in the Giza complex. The Egyptian pyramids are the only ones of the seven ancient wonders of the world that have survived to this day.


Experts are divided on how the pyramids were built, so even relatively small finds are of great interest. The authorities often publicly tout the discoveries to attract more tourists, a major source of foreign currency for this cash-strapped Middle Eastern country.


Egypt's tourism sector has suffered a prolonged slowdown following the political turmoil and violence that followed the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and other setbacks in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

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