A Hidden Entrance? Scientists Uncover Mysterious Voids Inside Egypt’s Menkaure Pyramid

It seems nan Pyramids of Giza haven’t revealed each their secrets conscionable yet. A squad of Egyptian and German researchers has discovered 2 hidden air-filled cavities wrong nan Pyramid of Menkaure, nan smallest of nan 3 awesome pyramids, raising caller hopes – and questions – astir nan beingness of a concealed entranceway sealed for much than 4,500 years.

The finding, announced by scientists from Cairo University and nan Technical University of Munich (TUM), is portion of nan eager ScanPyramids project, which uses precocious scanning exertion to research nan interiors of Egypt’s ancient monuments without causing damage.

The discovery, they say, adds beardown grounds to a long-standing mentation among archaeologists: that Menkaure’s pyramid whitethorn incorporate a 2nd hidden entrance, 1 that’s been buried down chromatic for millennia.

A hint carved successful stone

The communicative originates pinch a funny item connected nan eastbound look of nan pyramid – a conception of perfectly polished granite blocks, astir 4 metres precocious and six metres wide. The different smoothness of nan chromatic caught experts’ attraction years ago, arsenic this type of decorativeness usually only appears astir nan main entranceway connected nan northbound side.

That item led independent researcher Stijn van den Hoven successful 2019 to propose that nan granite spot mightiness hide thing important – possibly different entranceway built during nan reign of Pharaoh Menkaure, betwixt 2490 and 2472 BCE.

Now, 5 years later, cutting-edge scanning devices person provided caller support for that idea. Using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), ultrasound testing (UST), and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), nan squad detected 2 voids conscionable down nan mysterious granite surface.

According to nan data, nan first cavity – labelled A1 – sits astir 1.4 metres beneath nan aboveground and measures astir 1 metre by 1.5 metres. The second, A2, is somewhat smaller astatine 0.9 by 0.7 metres, located astir 1.13 metres deep.

“These tests fto america spot what’s happening wrong nan pyramid without rubbing a azygous stone,” explained Professor Christian Grosse from TUM. “And what we’ve recovered makes nan thought of different entranceway highly plausible.”

A pyramid that stands apart

While nan Pyramid of Menkaure is nan smallest of Giza’s trio, opinionated astatine astir 60 metres tall, it’s besides nan slightest altered since its building during nan Old Kingdom. That’s what makes it specified a valuable tract for researchers – a comparatively untouched model into Egypt’s ancient engineering.

If a hidden entranceway really exists connected nan eastbound side, it would situation what we cognize astir pyramid design. Most tomb entrances from that era were built facing north, not east.

“This is simply a very absorbing discovery,” said Peter Der Manuelian, an Egyptologist astatine Harvard University who wasn’t progressive successful nan project. “It reminds america that we still person a batch to study astir nan Giza pyramids.”

The find besides highlights really overmuch nan ScanPyramids squad has precocious successful caller years. In 2023, nan aforesaid group revealed a antecedently chartless corridor wrong nan Great Pyramid of Khufu, different awesome breakthrough that captured world attention.

Uncovering nan past pinch modern tools

The ScanPyramids task – led by Cairo University and nan Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities – combines archaeology pinch cutting-edge exertion to research ancient structures safely. It’s supported by nan Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dassault Systèmes, NHK, and respective universities and investigation institutions.

Researchers pass that while nan findings are promising, much activity is needed earlier confirming what these cavities really mean. They could beryllium structural gaps, hidden chambers, or, arsenic galore now suspect, nan commencement of a forgotten passageway.

For now, nan enigma remains. But 1 point is definite – nan find has reignited fascination pinch nan Pyramid of Menkaure, a monument that continues to defender its secrets thousands of years later.