A new chamber dating back around 4,500 years has been discovered in one of Egypt’s great pyramids.
The hallway measuring nine meters (30 feet) long and over six feet wide was discovered near the main entrance to one of the three Giza pyramids.
The ScanPyramids project used high-tech equipment to unearth the chamber located on the north side of Khufu’s pyramid.
Archaeologists are intrigued by the function of the chamber, which could not be entered from outside the pyramid.
The project has been underway since 2015 and on Thursday an unveiling ceremony was held attended by scientists.
Non-destructive testing professor Christian Grosse said various scanning techniques were deployed to locate the chamber, including ultrasonic measurements and ground-penetrating radar.
Scientists detected the corridor using advanced X-ray, then collected images of it by passing a tiny endoscope through a tiny joint in the stones of the pyramid.
Mr. Grosse said: ”There are two large limestones at the bottom chamber, and now the question is what is behind these stones and under the chamber. ”
Egyptian antiquities officials said the discovery could lead to further finds.
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Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri speculated that the unfinished corridor was used to redistribute the weight of the pyramid around the main entrance used by tourists, or around another undiscovered chamber or space.
Mr Waziri added: “We will continue our analysis to see what we can do … to understand what we can discover below, or just at the end of this corridor.”
Another longer sealed corridor was found in 2017, again in the Khufu Pyramid, measuring 98 feet.
The Pyramid of Khufu was named after its creator – a Fourth Dynasty pharaoh who ruled from 2509 to 2483 BC – and is one of three pyramids that make up the Great Pyramids, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world still standing.
