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Tourists walked right past it for years: researchers report a sensational find in the Cheops pyramid

2023-03-07T13:55:30.313Z


Egyptian pyramids have fascinated people for thousands of years. The discovery of a hidden chamber in the Cheops pyramid is considered spectacular. 


Egyptian pyramids have fascinated people for thousands of years.

The discovery of a hidden chamber in the Cheops pyramid is considered spectacular. 

Cairo/Munich - The Cheops Pyramid in Egypt is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

An international research team has now discovered a new chamber in the Pyramid of Giza.

A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) was also involved.

Pyramid of Cheops at Giza: New chamber discovered

Years ago, measurements had indicated a hidden cavity in the famous pyramid.

Now the existence of an amazingly large chamber has been confirmed.

TUM announced this in a press release on Thursday (March 2nd).

Last but not least, the find is particularly significant because the pyramid is considered one of the best-studied structures in the world, explained the TUM scientists.

There are no footprints or similar signs of human activity inside the chamber.

Therefore, according to the TUM, the research group assumes that no one has seen this room for around 4,500 years.

"Sensation": New chamber discovered in the Cheops pyramid - tourists walked right past it for years

The chamber is above the actual entrance on the north side of the pyramid.

According to first estimates, the corridor, which is between 17 and 23 meters above ground level, even exceeds the originally assumed size of at least five meters in length.

In an interview with

tagesschau.de

, Christian Groß from the Chair for Non-Destructive Testing at TUM spoke of a chamber “that has surprisingly large dimensions”.

It is nine meters long, about 2.10 meters wide and 2.30 meters high.

"And that's a sensation, because this chamber is only a few meters above the entrance that tourists normally use.

Over the years, many thousands of tourists have actually passed by this chamber - which had not yet been discovered," Groß continues.

So far, "only about ten percent are known" of the Cheops pyramid.

+

A hidden chamber was found in the Cheops pyramid.

People attend the press conference on the new discovery.

© Ahmed Gomaa/dpa

Hidden Chamber in Cheops Pyramid: What was its use?

The purpose behind the chamber "certainly requires further measurements," Groß told

tagesschau.de

.

But he explained: “When the Egyptians built rooms like this in a 'chevron' shape, it actually always indicates that there is something special there.

First of all, this is also a constructive means of absorbing the loads from the upper area in order to protect something below or behind it.

In other words, now begins the search for what is below or behind the chamber.”

Similar to Groß, Egyptologists also assess the find.

Alexander Schütz, Egyptologist from the Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), described the find as "spectacular, because the chamber is really big".

He was not involved in the research.

The importance of the chamber is probably only a technical one, he guessed.

"It looks very much to me that this is another relief chamber that should take the immense pressure of the stones from the entrance structure," said Schütze.

"The find will also advance the understanding of the construction method."

Last but not least, there are rooms above the king's chamber on which stones arranged in a gabled manner rest and which, according to current knowledge, serve to relieve the burden.

The stones over the passages and chambers weigh millions of tons.

"Relief chambers are generally known," says the building researcher at the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, Martin Sühlhof.

It seems plausible to him if such cavities were constructed at the earlier entrance.

Many questions about statics and the construction process are still open.

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A hidden chamber has been discovered in the famous Great Pyramid of Giza.

© Sayed Hassan/dpa

Pharaoh's mummy in the hidden chamber?

According to the TUM, further research work is necessary.

The exact function of the chamber and shaft system inside the pyramid has not been fully clarified.

How did the researchers find the hidden chamber?

While mini-robots are also used to get to the bottom of mysteries in pyramids, the basis for the find in the Cheops pyramid was different.

Measurements with muon tomography were used - an imaging method for three-dimensional imaging of large-volume objects using cosmic rays.

These suggested the existence of a cavity in the so-called Great Pyramid, as the scientists involved reported in the journal

Nature

in 2017 .

Even then it was spectacular - the media was talking about the first discovery of this magnitude inside the Cheops pyramid since the 19th century.

For a closer examination, the TUM team led by Christian Große used methods such as radar and ultrasound.

“The Pyramids are a World Heritage Site.

That's why we have to be particularly careful during the investigation so that no damage occurs," said Große.

Radar and ultrasonic measuring devices could not only be used non-destructively, but in some cases even without contact.

The muon tomography initially showed differences in density in the structure, which the researchers investigated further.

They then suspected that there were even two cavities of different sizes at different points in the pyramid.

One has now been confirmed.

The other cavity in the center of the pyramid could - if it is actually confirmed - be significantly larger.

There was speculation as to whether the mummy of Pharaoh Cheops could be lying in one of the chambers.

The sarcophagus in the King's Chamber was found empty.

But researchers are more likely to assume that the mummy is not in the pyramid.

"In my opinion, there is no reason to suspect some kind of hiding place where the remains were buried," said Schütze.

The pyramid had been plundered, probably already in ancient times.

An 18-year-old narrowly escaped jail for climbing the Cheops pyramid.

(mbr with dpa)

List of rubrics: © Sayed Hassan/dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-03-07

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