Void may be key to how ancients built pyramids

‘ANOMALY’ MAY HOUSE RAMP

Amysterious void has been discovered in the Great Pyramid of Giza and Egyptologists believe it could finally shed light on how the ancient tombs were constructed.

The enigmatic gap, which is around 100 feet long, is situated directly above the Grand Gallery, an elaborate access route which cuts through the pyramid.

It was found using a state-of-theart scanning process. Yesterday, a team of scientists from France and Japan announced that months of scanning had shown a clear void, and they are hoping to drill a small hole and release a tiny drone to video the chasm. “We were very surprised to see a big anomaly,” said Mehdi Tayoubi, study leader and president of the Heritage Innovation Preservation Institute, Paris.

“We were expecting to detect the king’s chamber and Grand Gallery, but we were surprised to find a big void and we think what we have is very important. It is the same height as the Statue of Liberty. It could be a second grand gallery, it could be a chamber.”

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built for Khufu, or Cheops, the second pharaoh of the fourth dynasty who reigned from 2589 BC to 2566 BC. His tomb is 456 feet high and 755 feet wide, the largest pyramid ever built, and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The new void is 230 feet from ground level and scans suggest it may be sloped at a similar angle to the Grand Gallery below. Dr. Kate Spence, lecturer in archeology and Egyptology at the University of Cambridge, said: “I think it is an inclined ramp that was used to transport huge blocks into the centre of the pyramid and then sealed off by the builders. The orientation leads up to the huge granite roof struts at the top of the relieving chamber. Although that might not sound as exciting as a secret burial chamber, in fact, this would be the first evidence of the use of a ramp inside, which gives us a really important insight into how those huge bricks were put into position and how pyramids were constructed.”

Prof. Hany Helal, of the University of Cairo, said the orientation of the void also resembled a corridor that was found hidden behind the north face last year. “This void was hidden since the construction of the pyramids,” he said.

The new research was published in the journal Nature.

WOULD BE THE FIRST EVIDENCE OF THE USE OF A RAMP INSIDE.

HASSAN AMMAR / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An enigmatic gap, which is around 100 feet long, is situated directly above the Grand Gallery inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was found using a state-of-the-art scanning process.