Great gap of Giza may hold key to pyramids
A mysterious 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 unexplained gap, which is around 100ft long, is situated directly above the Grand Gallery, and was discovered by scientists from France and Japan. After months of scanning proved the existence of the void, they are now hoping to drill a small hole and release a tiny flying drone into the chasm.
A MYSTERIOUS 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 100ft long, is situated directly above the Grand Gallery, an elaborate access route which cuts through the pyramid.
It was found using a state-of-the-art scanning process called “muography” which picks up tiny cosmic particles known as muons. Muons lose energy and eventually decay when they move through matter, so if large numbers are picked by a detector it means a hole must exist, which has allowed them to pass through unimpeded.
Yesterday, a team of scientists from France and Japan announced that months of scanning had shown a clear void. 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. We are working with archaeologists to compare it to other chambers.”
The Great Pyramid of Giza was built for Khufu, or Cheops, the second pharaoh of the fourth dynasty who reigned between 2589 BC to 2566 BC. His tomb is 456ft high and 755ft wide, the largest pyramid to be built, and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
However, experts are divided about how the ancient Egyptians moved the stones into place, some of which weigh 80 tons and which came from Aswan,
‘It is the same height as the Statue of Liberty. It could be a second Grand Gallery, it could be a chamber’
more than 500 miles away. Some theories suggest elaborate cranes and pulleys, wooden rail tracks, spiral outer ramps, or even flotation chambers.
The detected void is 230ft from ground level and scans suggest it may be sloped at a similar angle to the Grand Gallery below. Dr Kate Spence, lecturer in archaeology and Egyptology at the University of Cambridge, said: “This finding is very exciting, but not because it is some kind of secret chamber. 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 resembled a corridor that was found hidden behind the north face last year.
“Was it deliberately hidden away? This structure is not accessible. This void was hidden since the construction of the pyramids,” he said.
Once the mystery of the void is solved, archaeologists hope to use similar technology to locate the burial place of the queen Nefertiti, the wife of the pharaoh king Akhenaten. Some Egyptologists thinks she could be buried in a secret chamber in Tutankhamun’s tomb.
The findings were published in the journal Nature.