Archeologists find a nine-meter corridor In the pyramid of Cheops
(Sebastien Procureur et al. / Nature Communications, 2023 https://go.nature.com/3KUjPqt)
Physicists have discovered a hidden corridor about nine meters long inside the pyramid of Cheops (Khufu).
The international team led by Sebastien Procureur from the University of Paris-Saclay used muon tomography.
It seems that the entrance to it is located behind the stone slabs, laid in the form of an arch, on the north side of the structure.
The Giza Pyramid Complex is probably the most famous and recognizable archaeological site in the world, and the pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) draws most of the attention there.
It is known that inside this massive structure, erected about 4500 years ago, there are several internal structures:
- corridors
- several chambers
- a large gallery
- ventilation ducts
However, the internal structure of the Khufu pyramid continues to be explored. So, a few years ago, physicists began to study it using muon tomography.
In 2017, a group of scientists reported that there is a hidden chamber above the Great Pyramid Gallery, the length of which reaches 30 meters.
THE DISCOVERY
Now the international team has continued the study of the Khufu pyramid using muon tomography.
The researchers drew attention to the stone slabs laid in the form of an arch above the entrance to the pyramid on its northern side.
In the descending corridor, they installed emulsion plates 25×30 centimeters in size, with which muons were registered.
The first results, obtained in 2016, showed that in the place of interest to them, there seems to be a void with a length of at least five meters.
Then, similar plates were again installed in several places in the descending corridor and the passage, which was made in 820 by the Baghdad caliph Abdullah al-Mamun.
(Sebastien Procureur et al. / Nature Communications, 2023 https://go.nature.com/3ZHw9yN)
The obtained data made it possible to present the three-dimensional configuration of this room.
Its length is about 9 meters, and its height and width are about 2 meters.
This corridor is located approximately 20 meters above ground level.
It is separated from the outer surface of the wall by a distance of 79–89 centimeters, which approximately corresponds to the thickness of the limestone block of the arch
This arc can be observed outside the pyramid, and probably the corridor starts right behind it.
The scientists were able to confirm their findings in other experiments.
Sources:
- Nature Communications: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36351-0
- ScienceAlert: https://www.sciencealert.com/corridor-discovered-in-great-pyramid-could-be-protecting-the-actual-burial-chamber
- BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64825526
Wanna relax, sleep or improve your focus?
Check this rain sound video: https://bit.ly/rainsfocus