Cairo –
Egyptian archaeological authorities unveiled Thursday a newly discovered sealed chamber in one of the Great Pyramids of Giza, just outside Cairo, that dates back about 4,500 years.
A corridor on the north side of the Pyramid of Khufu was discovered using the latest scanning technology. It is 9 meters (nearly 30 feet) long and 2 meters (over 6 feet) wide and sits above the Pyramid’s main entrance.
Archaeologists don’t know what the functions of the chambers that were not accessible from the outside were. In 2017, scientists announced that they had discovered another sealed corridor, a 30-meter (or about 98-foot) room, also inside the Pyramid of Khufu.
Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass and the country’s tourism minister Ahmed Eisa announced the find at an unveiling ceremony outside the pyramid on Thursday. The Scan Pyramids project is International program using scans to explore unexplored parts of ancient structureswas credited for the discovery.
Scientists for the project, which began in 2015, attended the unveiling ceremony.
According to Christian Grosse, professor of non-destructive testing at the Technical University of Munich and a key member of the project, various scanning techniques, including ultrasonic measurements and ground penetrating radar, were used to locate the chamber. He hopes these techniques will lead to further discoveries within the pyramid.
“There are two large limestone rocks in the last room, and the problem is what’s behind these stones and under the room.
The Pyramid of Khufu, named after its founder and Pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty, who ruled from 2509 to 2483 BC, is one of the three pyramids that make up the Great Pyramids of the Giza Complex . The Egyptian pyramids are the only of the seven wonders of the ancient world to have survived to this day.
Experts disagree about how the pyramids were built, so even relatively small discoveries are of great interest. Authorities often publicize finds to attract more tourists. It is a major source of foreign currency earnings for the cash-strapped Middle Eastern country.
Egypt’s tourism sector suffers a prolonged downturn after political turmoil and riots following the 2011 riots, the ouster of the country’s longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak, and the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic It suffered further setbacks after
