A technique normally used to uncover the plumbing networks of volcanoes has made an altogether different discovery – that of a gigantic hidden void within the Great Pyramid of Giza, one that is at least 4,500 years old. Tantalizingly, at this point in time, no one on Earth has any idea what the void actually is.
Nobody knows who exactly
built it, what its purpose was, or even how to access it. Also known as Khufu’s
Pyramid, named after the pharaoh that it was built for, it already contains a
multitude of incredible spaces, including the King’s Chamber, the Queen’s
Chamber, and a gigantic passage leading to the royal burial chambers known as
the Grand Gallery. This new area was found above the gallery, and it’s about 30
meters (98 feet) long, perhaps even longer.
Discovered in 2016, the
research team – comprised largely of physicists, engineers, and archaeologists
from Nagoya University and Paris’ Heritage Innovation Preservation (HIP)
Institute – told journalists during a call that “whatever it is, it’s clearly
very big and very important.”
“We were very surprised to
see such a big anomaly,” coordinating researcher Mehdi Tayoubi, the president
and co-founder of HIP, explained.
 |
| A 3D view of where the new void has been discovered. It could also be inclined; finer details at this point remain unknown. ScanPyramids project |
“At the moment, we’re not sure if it’s horizontal or
inclined, one structure or several successive structures. What we are sure of
is that it’s there, it’s impressive, and it was not expected nor predicted by
any theory.” At present, they’re not willing to call it a “chamber”.
This breathtaking Nature study
is part of the ScanPyramids project,
one that uses subatomic particles named muons to identify large spaces
within an object. Similar to electrons, they’re usually produced when cosmic
rays slam into the atmosphere. If you place a detector on one side of an object and then
blast muons through the object, you can see concealed voids within. The more
muons that get through, the larger the void.
It’s normally used to peer into the ground to see where
magma might be flowing, and ever since the 1970s, it has been tentatively
deployed around several of Egypt’s ancient pyramids, including Khafre’s, the
second-largest after Khufu’s. Now, after some refinement, the technique has
made its most impressive discovery to date.
The team explain that the ambiguity of the void will
linger for some time. The point of this project is to investigate the Great
Pyramid using non-invasive, non-destructive means – it’s up to others to work
out the best way to get into the void, and it won’t be easy.
“It’s located in a place
which is very difficult to access,” Tayoubi added. “If an exploration is
imagined, it will be from below – but it’s not our responsibility to make these
kinds of discussions.”
“We have asked specialists
in robotics and artificial intelligence to think about a new, innovative robot
that can sneak through a small hole [to explore the new chamber].”
The Great Pyramid of Giza is
shrouded in enigmas, from its construction method to its architectural
skeleton. This new find adds to that pile of conundrums, and raises more
questions than answers.
The only person that
arguably knew all of the secrets of the pyramid was Khufu himself, who was
later named Cheops by the Greeks. Ruling during the 26th century BCE, a lot of
his life was written about by those that lived 2,000 years later, and the only surviving portrait of him comes from a small
ivory figurine discovered in 1903.
Like his colossal creation,
almost everything about him remains a complete mystery – for the time being.
Via IFLScience