A team of international archaeologists used high-tech instruments to find a sealed-off chamber above the entrance to the Pyramid of Khufu. They expect to find more such chambers in the future.
'Man fears time, but time fears the pyramids' — the Great Pyramid of Giza has stood for 4,500 yearsImage: Ahmed Gomaa/Xinhua/picture alliance
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Egyptian antiquities authorities on Thursday made public the discovery of a hidden chamber inside the 4,500 year old Pyramid of Khufu — formerly known as the Pyramid of Cheops — or the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The discovery, which was credited to scientists from the ScanPyramids project, was announced by archaeologist Zahi Hawass and Minister of Tourism Ahmed Eissa.
ScanPyramids, initiated in 2015, is an international project that uses various high-tech instruments employing non-invasive infrared thermography, ultrasound, 3D simulations and cosmic-ray radiography to study the structures.
Scientists say they used that technology to discover a sealed-off corridor above the main entrance to the pyramid. The corridor, which is not accessible from outside the structure, is nine meters (29.5 feet) long and two meters (6.5 feet) wide.
After the discovery was made, scientists fed a small diameter (6 millimeter: 1/4 inch) Japanese endoscope through a crack between stones to attain images of the space from inside.
The team from ScanPyramids used radiography to locate the corridor, then an endoscope to film it from insideImage: ScanPyramids
Archaeologists want to know what else may be inside the structure
Archaeologists say they do not know what purpose the corridor served.
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Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, suggested the corridor may have been designed to redistribute weight above the main entrance or around another as yet undiscovered chamber.
Christoph Grosse of the Technical University of Munich, a leading member of the ScanPyramids project, said he hopes to uncover still more hidden secrets. Speaking of the newly discovered corridor, he said, "There are two large limestones at the end of the chamber, and now the question is what's behind those stones and below the chamber?"
'Now the question is what's behind those stones and below the chamber?' says Christoph Grosse of the Technical University of Munich Image: ScanPyramids
Major tourism magnet in cash-strapped country
Located just outside Cairo, the Pyramid of Khufu — named after a Fourth Dynasty pharaoh who reigned from 2509 to 2483 B.C. — is one of the three structures that make up the Giza pyramid complex.
The structure is the only of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to have survived to this day.
The question of how exactly the pyramids were built has confounded experts for centuries. Originally built to a height of 146 meters, the Pyramid of Khufu now stands at 139 meters.
The mystery surrounding them has also made them a main tourist attraction in Egypt, which depends heavily on the tourism sector for income.
Spectacular archaeological finds from Ancient Egypt
Despite years of research, new surprises regularly come from ancient Egyptian sites. A look at the latest, as well as some of the classics.
Image: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images
59 sarcophagi in Saqqara
In October 2020, archaeologists discovered 59 coffins in the necropolis of Saqqara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Covered in intricate designs in vibrant colors, the sarcophagi had not been opened for more than 2,500 years and were extremely well preserved, just like the mummies they contained.
Image: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images
Wooden coffins in Luxor
A sensational find: The 30 colorful wooden coffins discovered in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor in 2019 were more than 3,000 years old. Hieroglyphic depictions of snakes, birds and lotus blossoms in black, green, red and yellow were still clearly recognizable; they are believed to have been so well preserved because there were no settlements near the site.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/K. Desouki
Tutanchamun's tomb
In 1922 in the Valley of the Kings, the British Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, who ruled from 1332 to 1323 BC. The Pharaoh died at the age of 19. While most graves had been discovered by looters, this tomb was still untouched and filled with treasures. The priceless death mask and the gold-plated coffin are particularly famous.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L. Gigerichova
The 'light bulbs' of Dendera
Reliefs in the Ancient Egyptian temple complex of Dendera show bulb-shaped objects with "wire filaments" running through them. A fringe theory sees this as evidence that ancient Egyptians possessed electrical technology — perhaps even brought by aliens. Serious Egyptologists however view the carvings as representations of mythological symbols.
Image: Harrison Neil/prisma/picture alliance
The Rosetta Stone
This stone tablet, discovered in the Nile Delta in 1799, has a text carved in Ancient Greek and one in Ancient Egyptian in two different scripts, Demotic and hieroglyphics. The inscriptions dating back to 196 BC praise the Egyptian king Ptolemy V. The Rosetta Stone famously contributed to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Kalker
Nefertiti's bust
The bust of the legendary queen was created between 1353 and 1336 BC and found in 1912 during excavations made by the German Orient Society. Even though there is no inscription on the bust, its crown and similarity to other portraits allowed experts to identify it as a representation of Nefertiti. Except for one missing eye, the bust was exceptionally well preserved.
Image: Beliane
The temple of Abu Simbel
The temples at Abu Simbel were built in the 13th century BC. It was not until 1813 that the Swiss traveler Jean Louis Burckhardt discovered the Great Temple of Ramses II buried in the sand. In the 1960s, the newly created Lake Nasser threatened today's World Heritage Site. The large Ramses Temple and the smaller Hathor Temple in memory of Nefertari had to be relocated.
Image: imagebroker/picture alliance
Pyramid of Cheops
The Pyramid of Cheops, the oldest and largest of the three pyramids of Giza, was built from 2620 to 2500 BC. It was believed to have been explored from top to bottom — until a high-energy particle radiation scan in 2017 revealed a hidden cavity located above the large gallery and 30 meters (98 feet) long. Paths or tunnels do not lead into the secret chamber, and its purpose is still unclear.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/ScanPyramids Mission/M. Nelson
