By Aina J. Khan —
NBC News
A hitherto unknown and hidden tunnel was located inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, in Egypt, thanks to an investigation that has lasted a year and in which innovative technology has been used to reveal the secrets in the bowels of the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.
An international research team used a
cosmic ray-based imaging method
to analyze a cavity behind the north face of the pyramid that was discovered in 2016. Their findings were announced to the press by officials Thursday next to the pyramid, 456 feet high.
“It is the most important discovery of the 21st century
,” Zahi Hawass, a former Egyptian minister of Antiquities, told NBC News.
The Great Pyramid, on March 2. KHALED DESOUKI / AFP via Getty Images
The tunnel measures about six feet (two meters) wide and 29 feet (nine meters) long, according to Egyptian authorities, adding that it was probably designed to relieve the weight of the vast structure, which was built as a burial chamber around to the year 2560 BC
The corridor is "protecting or reducing pressure on something below," said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, who hopes to find out "very soon" what its function is.
The pyramid—also known as the Khufu Pyramid—was built on the Giza plateau outside Cairo by the 4th Dynasty pharaoh Khufu, who reigned from 2509 to 2483 BC.
"Today's discovery tells us that
something important will soon be discovered under that tunnel, which could be Khufu's real burial chamber
," Hawass said.
Image of the corridor.
Egyptian Ministry of Tourism / EFE
This finding is due to the international ScanPyramids
project
, created in October 2015 by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities to explore the interior of the huge structures without using drilling methods that could be destructive.
Muon X-rays,
developed in Japan by Nagoya University and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization,
are used instead .
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This technique tracks particles known as cosmic ray muons that bombard Earth at close to the speed of light and penetrate solid objects more effectively than X-rays, making it possible to accurately visualize unknown structures within the Earth. pyramid.
With this method, significant anomalies were detected in 2016 on the north face of the Great Pyramid, with four chevrons (inverted V-shaped entrances) protruding from the descending corridor.
In 2017 they discovered what they said was the first major interior structure found in the pyramid since the 19th century, a "void" or "cavity" they dubbed the Grand Gallery.
The pyramids, in Cairo. AMIR MAKAR / AFP via Getty Images
In addition to the Grand Gallery, archaeologists previously found the King's Chamber, roughly in the center of the pyramid, and a smaller Queen's Chamber in close proximity.