ScanPyramids mission
Though the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt is one of the ancient world’s biggest and most elaborate monuments, we still know very little about how it was constructed. We also don’t know how many chambers are hidden inside it. Now, an international research team has identified what appears to be a large empty space or void above the pyramid’s famed “Grand Gallery.” The scientists report in the journal Nature that they used a cutting-edge technique for detecting cosmic radiation to make their discovery.
The Pharaoh Khufu (2509-2483 BCE) ordered the Great Pyramid to be built at Giza roughly 4,500 years ago. The structure remained sealed until 820 CE, when the Caliph al-Ma’mun broke open one of its walls and discovered three chambers inside, arranged vertically. These chambers are connected by the “Grand Gallery,” a large corridor. Since that time, many have tried to find additional rooms and failed. Part of the problem is that we have no remaining plans for the pyramid’s design, so it’s impossible to know where to look. Plus, archaeologists today can’t explore the pyramid using invasive techniques that might damage the structure. So explorers have to get creative. That’s why Heritage Innovation Preservation Institute’s (HIP) Mendhi Tayoubi organized a team of engineers and physicists who would use cosmic radiation to map the interior of the pyramid to look for empty spaces.
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