Scientists discover 4500-year-old hidden corridor in Great Pyramid of Giza

Scientists have made a stunning discovery inside the Great Pyramid of Giza – the last surviving structure of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Scientists have discovered a hidden passage inside Egypt’s Great Pyramid.

The Great Pyramid is the largest in Giza, standing 146m tall, and the only surviving structure of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Built some 4500 years ago, it has three known chambers, and like other pyramids in Egypt was intended as a pharaoh’s tomb.

The newly-discovered “gabled corridor” with a triangular ceiling is nine metres long and more than two metres wide and “was found on the northern face of the Great Pyramid of King Khufu”, archaeologist Zahi Hawass said.

Scientists have discovered a hidden corridor in the 4500 year-old Great Pyramid of Giza. Pictures: AFP

The Great Pyramid is the last surviving structure of the seven wonders of the ancient world. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)

Hawass told reporters at the pyramid on Thursday that “there is a great possibility … the tunnel is protecting something. In my opinion, it is protecting the actual burial chamber of King Khufu.”

The discovery was part of the ScanPyramids project, launched in 2015 as a collaboration between major universities in France, Germany, Canada and Japan and a group of Egyptian experts.

Tourists visit the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) at the Giza Pyramids necropolis on the southwestern outskirts of Cairo, on March 2, 2023. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)

A hidden corridor has been spotted close to the main entrance of the pyramid. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)

Hawass, Egypt’s former antiquities minister, heads the committee supervising the project, which uses advanced technology to visualise hidden parts of the pyramid’s interior without having to excavate it.

The technology is a mix of infra-red thermography, muon radiography imaging and 3D reconstruction — all of which the researchers say are non-invasive and non-destructive techniques.

In 2017, ScanPyramids announced the discovery of a passenger plane-sized cavity, the first major structure found inside the Great Pyramid since the 19th century.

— with AFP