A nine meter (30 ft) long hidden corridor was discovered near the main entrance of the Great Pyramid of Giza4,500 years old, and this could lead to new finds, Egyptian antiquities officials said.
The discovery inside the pyramid, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that is still standing, was made under the Scan Pyramids project that since 2015 has been using non-invasive technology including infrared thermography and 3D simulations as well as cosymc ray imaging to try to peek inside the structure.
An article published in the magazine Nature on Thursday noted that the discovery could contribute to knowledge about the construction of the pyramid and the purpose of a gabled limestone structure that faces the corridor.
The Great Pyramid was built as a monumental tomb around 2560 BC. C. during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu or Cheops. Built at a height of 146 meters (479 feet), it now measures 139 meters and it was the tallest human-made structure until the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1889.
The corridor that is not finished was probably built in order to redistribute the weight of the pyramid around the main entrance. which is now used by tourists when visiting the pyramid, almost 7 meters away, or around another chamber or space yet to be discovered, said Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.
“We are going to continue our scanning to see what we can do… to find out what we can find below, or just at the end of this corridor,” he told reporters after a news conference in front of the pyramid.
It is also believed that five rooms were built over the king’s burial chamber in another part of the pyramid to redistribute the weight of the massive structure. It was possible that the pharaoh had more than one burial chamber, Waziri added.
Scientists detected the corridor through X-rays of cosmic ray muons And in 2017, Scan Pyramids researchers announced the discovery of a void at least 30 meters long inside the Great Pyramid, the first major internal structure found since the 19th century.
The last surviving of the seven wonders of the ancient world has captivated visitors since its construction as a burial chamber. Experts still argue about how it was built, hence the interest aroused by the discoveries, even if they are minor aspects.
Egypt is highlighting the discoveries to attract tourists, a major source of foreign currency in this North African nation. The sector suffered a sharp decline due to the violence unleashed by an insurrection in 2011.
They discover two new tombs with their sarcophagi
In January, Egypt unveiled dozens of new archaeological discoveries, including two ancient tombs, in a pharaonic necropolis on the outskirts of the capital, Cairo.
The artifacts, unearthed during a year-long excavation, were found beneath an ancient stone enclosure near the Saqqara pyramids and They date from the fifth and sixth dynasties of the Old Kingdom, spanning from about 2500 B.C. C. until 2100 a. c.the excavation team said.
One of the discovered tombs belonged to a 5th dynasty priest known as Khnumdjedefwhile the another tomb belonged to an official named Meri, a palace official who held the title of “keeper of secrets,” the team said. Other important finds from the excavation include statues, amulets, and a well-preserved sarcophagus.
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Source-www.infobae.com