From NOTICE News Daily for March 3, 2023
CAIRO (Reuters) – A hidden corridor nine meters (30 feet) long has been discovered close to the main entrance of the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza, and this could lead to further findings, Egyptian antiquities officials said on Thursday. The discovery within the pyramid, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing, was made under the Scan Pyramids project that since 2015 has been using non-invasive technology including infrared thermography, 3D simulations and cosmic-ray imaging to peer inside the structure. >> Full story
MORE INFO:
- More about the “Scan Pyramids” Project that spearheaded this discovery, from NBC News
- A video about the “Scan Pyramids” mission from the source itself
- Go Deeper: this comes as Egypt is looking to boost tourism 30% annually in the next 5 years, per a report from VOA
- What did the pyramids look like when they were first built? Live Science has a digital reconstruction
- More on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World from The History Channel
TRANSCRIPT
Jonathan: They may have been built over 4000 years ago, but believe it or not, secrets of the Egyptian pyramids are still being uncovered.
Just this week, a corridor, or hallway, was discovered near the entrance to the Great Pyramid of Giza which experts say may lead to the funeral chamber of the Pharaoh Khufu.
Khufu is the Pharaoh who had the Great Pyramid built, and it’s believed that he’s buried somewhere inside, although his body still hasn’t been found.
The corridor is 30 feet long and 6 feet wide and scientists say they’re still trying to determine what exactly it was used for.
Scientists were able to finally see this corridor thanks to an international project called “Scan Pyramids” that launched in 2015.
Instead of drilling, digging, and possibly damaging the pyramids, ScanPyramids used an endoscope from Japan that is basically an extremely powerful X-ray that can scan through the stone.
Nat: “This is the endoscope this is the camera of the endoscope, this is our crew of engineers, this is the tube, and here we are, this is the corridor” applause
Experts say this may be the most important discovery at the site of the pyramids in the 21st century.
