A 30-Foot-Long Hidden Corridor was discovered in the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza!

A 30-foot-long hidden corridor was discovered on March 2, 2023, in the Great Pyramid of Giza. This monument is the last standing Ancient Wonder of the World. This North Facing Corridor (NFC) is the first discovery uncovered on the monument’s north side.

The corridor is located above the ancient entrance of the pyramid, behind a chevron-shaped structure that is visible outside the pyramid. This fascinating discovery within the pyramid was made under the ScanPyramids project using muon tomography, a non-invasive technology.

The ScanPyramids Project – An Initiative to Uncover the Hidden Secrets in the Pyramids

First images of the newly discovered hidden corridor in the Great Pyramid of Giza, which some people thought was filled with treasures pic.twitter.com/MoaL9ssvQB

— Levandov (@Levandov_1) March 3, 2023

The Great Pyramid was constructed around 2560 BCE during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu. The height of the monumental tomb was around 146 meters when it was constructed. But it now stands at 139 meters with much of its limestone casing removed.

The pyramid consists of an elaborate system of passageways and chambers. However, not all of them have been uncovered yet.

In order to detect the presence of unknown voids and structures without excavating, the ScanPyramids project was launched in 2015. This Egyptian-international project is designed and led by Cairo University and the French HIP Institute (Heritage Innovation Preservation). The project combines several non-invasive and non-destructive techniques, such as 3D simulations, infrared thermography, muon tomography, and other reconstruction techniques, to scan the structure.

The 30-Foot Long Hidden Corridor Was Discovered Using Non-Invasive Technology.

As part of the ScanPyramids project, the most recent discovery is a 30-foot-long hidden corridor in the Great Pyramid of Giza. Egyptian antiquities officials confirmed its discovery on March 2, 2023.

The corridor was detected using muon tomography, a non-invasive technology that uses cosmic ray muons to generate three-dimensional images of objects. In order to retrieve images of what lies within, researchers inserted an endoscope into a tiny joint in the pyramid stones. However, no artifacts were visible in the captured images.

Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the hidden corridor might have been constructed to redistribute the weight within the massive monument. In fact, in another part of the pyramid, there are five rooms atop the King’s Burial Chamber, which are thought to have been built to redistribute the weight of the massive structure. Waziri also added that they would continue scanning to figure out what is underneath the chamber at the end of the corridor.

Scientists also believe that structural innovations constructed by the Egyptian tomb builders were mostly for pragmatic reasons rather than storing any hidden treasure. For example, the discovered hidden corridor could be related to the construction of the chevron as a first test of the structure before it was used later, higher up in the pyramid. Therefore, there is little likelihood anything major or valuable will be found inside these chambers.

An article published in the Nature Communications journal said that the discovery of this hidden corridor could help in gaining knowledge about the structure and techniques used in the construction of the pyramid. In addition, it could also help in understanding the purpose of the gabled limestone structure that sits in front of the corridor.

Furthermore, Egyptian antiquities officials believe that this amazing discovery could serve as a catalyst for conducting further research in other mysterious inner chambers.

Other Extraordinary Discoveries of the ScanPyramids Project

The ScanPyramids project has led to many other astonishing discoveries in the past. In 2016, researchers discovered a void behind the north face of the Great Pyramid. Following this, in 2017, they discovered a bigger “plane-sized” void, around 98 feet long, above the Grand Gallery.

Thus, we can conclude that even though the tomb commissioned by Pharaoh Khufu has been explored for years together, there are many more mysteries yet to be unraveled.

Scientists plan to continue these non-invasive scans at the Great Pyramid of Giza to uncover more hidden secrets as part of the ScanPyramids project. They also plan to use sophisticated muon detectors to detect the presence of artifacts, if any

Lost Egyptian City Found Underwater After 1200 Years

The ‘lost city of Atlantis has eluded explorers for centuries and is almost certainly the stuff of myth. Staggeringly, though, an ancient city that is Atlantis in all but name has emerged from under the sea near Alexandria — and now the lost world of Heracleion is giving up its treasures.

Just as in the classical tale, Heracleion was once a prosperous, thriving city before it was engulfed by the sea around 1,500 years ago. It was grand enough to be mentioned by the Greek writer Herodotus, the 5th-century BC historian.

He told the fabulous story of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world — she of the face that launched a thousand ships — travelling to Heracleion, then a port of ‘great wealth’, with her glamorous Trojan lover, Paris.

But no physical evidence of such a grand settlement appeared until 2001 when a group led by French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio stumbled upon some relics that led them to one of the greatest finds of the 21st century.

Goddio was in search of Napoleon’s warships from the 1798 Battle of the Nile, when he was defeated by Nelson in these very waters, but came upon this much more significant discovery.

Goddio’s team has since been joined by the Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology and the Department of Antiquities of Egypt to produce a wealth of dazzling finds.

The archaeologists first faced the mammoth task of reassembling massive stone fragments on the seabed before they could haul them to the surface. Twelve years on, their fabulous finds have been exposed to public view for the first time after more than a millennium spent beneath the silt and water of Aboukir Bay, 20 miles northeast of Alexandria.

Among the discoveries are colossal statues of the Egyptian goddess Isis, the god Hapi, and an unidentified Egyptian pharaoh — all preserved in immaculate condition by their muddy burial shroud. Along with these 16ft statues, there are hundreds of smaller statues of Egyptian gods — among them the figures that guarded the temple where Cleopatra was inaugurated as Queen of the Nile.

It seems the Amun-Gereb temple at Heracleion was the Egyptian equivalent of Westminster Abbey, where our own Queen was crowned 60 years ago.

Dozens of sarcophagi have been found, containing the bodies of mummified animals sacrificed to Amun-Gereb, the supreme god of the Egyptians. Many amulets, or religious charms, have been unearthed, too, showing gods such as Isis, Osiris and Horus.

These were made not just for the Egyptians but for visiting traders, who incorporated them into their own religions and also, one imagines, kept them as trinkets to remind them of their far-flung journeys.

The importance of Heracleion has been further proved by the discovery of 64 ships — the largest number of ancient vessels ever found in one place — and a mind-boggling 700 anchors.

Other finds illustrate how crucial Heracleion was to the economy of the ancient world. Gold coins and lead, bronze and stone weights from Athens (used to measure the value of goods and to calculate the tax owed) show that Heracleion was a lucrative Mediterranean trading post.

In the ancient world, the Mediterranean Sea was their equivalent of a superfast motorway. All their greatest cities, including Constantinople, Rome and Athens, were either on the coast or on rivers with easy access to it.

And now Heracleion can be added to their number as Egypt’s most important port during the time of the later pharaohs. It was, if you like, a major motorway junction — the spot where the Nile, Egypt’s lifeline, met the Med. Archaeologists have determined that as well as having a naturally navigable channel next to its ancient harbour, a further artificial channel appears to have been dug to expedite trade.

The Heracleion finds will add tremendous depth to our understanding of the ancient world — not least because, among the discoveries, there are perfectly preserved steles (inscribed pillars) decorated with hieroglyphics. Translated, they will reveal much about the religious and political life in this corner of ancient Egypt.

It was a similar inscription on the Rosetta Stone — discovered in the Nile Delta town of Rosetta in 1799 by a French soldier, and now in the British Museum — that cracked the code of hieroglyphics in the first place.

And like the Rosetta Stone, those steles found beneath the waters of Aboukir Bay are inscribed in Greek and Egyptian, too. Who knows how many more archaeological gems will be uncovered at Heracleion?

The very name of the city is taken from the most famous of Greek heroes, Heracles — aka Hercules — whose 12 labours, from killing the  Hydra to capturing Cerberus, the multi-headed hellhound that guarded the gates of the Underworld, captivated the ancient world.

Heraklion, Crete’s capital and largest city, is also named after Heracles, as was Herculaneum, the ancient Roman town that was buried under ash when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. It appears that Heracleion faded in importance in the later classical period, eclipsed by its neighbouring city of Alexandria, which became the capital of Egypt in 312 BC.

Still, Heracleion lingered on, later under Roman control, until it slipped into its watery grave sometime in the 6th or 7th century AD. What a thrilling discovery we have on our hands now that the sea has, 1,500 years later, given up one of its greatest secrets.

Mystery behind Cleopatra’s tomb: Two mummies discovered in Egypt could help solve it

The mummies of two high-status ancient Egyptians discovered in a temple on the Nile delta may bring researchers a step closer to finding the remains of Cleopatra, the legendary Egyptian queen.

The mummies, which had lain undisturbed for 2,000 years, are in a poor state of preservation because water had seeped into the tomb, according to the Guardian. 

But they were originally covered with gold leaf – a luxury reserved for only the top members of society’s elite – meaning they may have personally interacted with Cleopatra.  

The male and female mummies may have been priests who played a key role in maintaining the power of the legendary Egyptian queen and her lover, Mark Anthony.

Also found at the site were 200 coins bearing Cleopatra’s name and her face, which would have been pressed based on Cleopatra’s direct instructions.  The location of the long-lost tomb of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII from the year 30 BC remains unknown, although it’s somewhere near the Egyptian city of Alexandria.   

But this research team are convinced excavations at the ancient city of Taposiris Magna, which is marked by a temple that still stands today, will soon uncover the ancient couple’s resting place.  Despite the fact researchers have been excavating the site since 2005, only a tiny percentage of the vast site has been explored. 

The mummies were found in what is the first ever intact tomb to be opened at Taposiris Magna – an event that’s the subject of a Channel 5 documentary to be broadcast this week. 

‘Although now covered in dust from 2,000 years underground, at the time these mummies would have been spectacular,’ Dr Glenn Godenho, a senior lecturer in Egyptology at Liverpool University, told the Guardian. 

‘To be covered in gold leaf shows they would have been important members of society.’ 

One of the mummies was found wearing an image of a scarab, pained in gold leaf, symbolising rebirth. But the 200 coins bearing Cleopatra’s likeness links the pharaoh ruler directly to Taposiris Magna, which was founded in the third century BC. 

The ‘prominent nose and double chin’ of the queen as depicted on the coins suggest she wasn’t as conventionally beautiful as the actresses that portrayed her on screen – most memorably by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 film ‘Cleopatra’. 

Dr Godenho said that the tomb of Anthony and Cleopatra is expected to be a ‘way grander affair’ than this mummified couple.

‘Although we don’t know what Ptolemaic rulers’ tombs looked like because none have ever been firmly identified yet, it’s really unlikely that they’d be nondescript and indistinguishable from the burials of their subjects,’ he told MailOnline.

‘Add to that the fact that most consider the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony to be in the vicinity of Alexandria rather than out here at Taposiris Magna, and all the evidence points to these not being royal mummies at all.’ 

Dr Kathleen Martinez, an academic from the Dominican Republic, is leading the dig at the Taposiris Magna temple. After working there for over 14 years, Dr Martinez and her colleagues are more convinced than ever Cleopatra’s tomb will be found there. 

Dr Martinez is seen reacting to the opening of the newly-found mummies at Taposiris Magna in the Channel 5 documentary, which will broadcast on Thursday.  

After an initial limestone slab is removed, she says: ‘Oh my god, there are two mummies … See this wonder.’ 

Cleopatra was Egypt’s last pharaoh and the ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, from 51 BC to 30 BC. Cleopatra and her Roman lover Mark Anthony may have been buried at the site 2,000 years ago because of her desire to imitate an ancient prophecy, Dr Martinez believes. 

During her life, which ran from 69 BC to 30 BC, Cleopatra was known both as a seductress and as a captivating personality. She famously used her charms to first seduce Julius Caesar to cement Egypt’s alliance with Rome, and then to seduce one of his successors, Mark Anthony.            

In order to fix herself and Anthony as rulers in the minds of the Egyptian people, she also worked hard to associate them with the myth of Isis and Osiris. According to the myth, Osiris was killed and hacked into pieces that were scattered across Egypt.  After finding all of the pieces and making her husband whole again, Isis was able to resurrect him for a time.

Martinez believes Taposiris Magna was closely associated with the myth as the name means ‘tomb of Osiris’.

The inclusion of ‘Osiris’ could mean it was one of the places where his body was scattered in the story.  After Mark Anthony killed himself following defeat to Octavian but before her own suicide, Cleopatra put detailed plans in place for them both to be buried there, in echoes of the myth, Dr Martinez thinks. 

She previously told National Geographic: ‘Cleopatra negotiated with Octavian to allow her to bury Mark Antony in Egypt. 

‘She wanted to be buried with him because she wanted to reenact the legend of Isis and Osiris. 

‘The true meaning of the cult of Osiris is that it grants immortality. After their deaths, the gods would allow Cleopatra to live with Antony in another form of existence, so they would have eternal life together.’ 

Doubts have been cast on the theory, however, as other experts believe Cleopatra was hastily buried in Alexandria itself – the city from where she ruled Egypt until her death, believed to have been caused by snake venom. 

Egypt Unearths Tomb of Royal Priest From 4,400 Years Ago

Egypt unveiled a well-preserved 4,400-year-old tomb decorated with hieroglyphs and statues south of Cairo on Saturday, and officials expect more discoveries when archaeologists excavate the site further in the coming months.

The tomb was found in a buried ridge at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara. It was untouched and unlooted, Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters at the site. He described the find as “one of a kind in the last decades.”

The tomb dates from the rule of Neferirkare Kakai, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom.

Archaeologists removed a last layer of debris from the tomb on Thursday and found five shafts inside, Waziri said.

One of the shafts was unsealed with nothing inside, but the other four were sealed.

They are expecting to make discoveries when they excavate those shafts starting on Sunday, he said. He was hopeful about one shaft in particular.

“I can imagine that all of the objects can be found in this area,” he said, pointing at one of the sealed shafts. “This shaft should lead to a coffin or a sarcophagus of the owner of the tomb.”

The tomb is 10 meters (33 ft) long, three meters (9.8 ft) wide, and just under three meters high, Waziri said.

The walls are decorated with hieroglyphs and statues of pharaohs. Waziri said the tomb was unique because of the statues and its near-perfect condition.

“The color is almost intact even though the tomb is almost 4,400 years old,” he said.

The tomb lies on a buried ridge that has only partially been uncovered. Waziri said he expects more discoveries to be made there when archaeologists start more excavation work in January.

The Fifth Dynasty ruled Egypt from about 2,500 BC to 2,350 BC, not long after the great pyramid of Giza was built.

Saqqara served as the necropolis for Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt for more than two millennia.

Ancient Egyptians mummified humans to preserve their bodies for the afterlife, while animal mummies were used as religious offerings.

Egypt has revealed over a dozen ancient discoveries this year.

The country hopes the finds will brighten its image abroad and revive interest among travelers who once flocked to its iconic pharaonic temples and pyramids but who fled after the 2011 political uprising.

Paint like an Egyptian: X-rays reveal creative process behind ancient tomb art

Every painter has a process, but the painstaking revisions and countless tiny edits are invisible to those who only see the final product. In a study published today in PLOS ONE, researchers used x-rays to reveal how 3000-year-old paintings inside Egypt’s Theban Necropolis unfolded step by step.

The findings hint at the creative process used to produce these ancient masterworks.

Applying the x-ray method to ancient Egyptian wall paintings “is really a game changer,” says Marine Cotte, a chemist at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, who previously collaborated with the study’s authors but was not involved with this work.

In recent years, scientists and art historians around the world have teamed up to use a technology known as x-ray fluorescence to identify paint colors and traced lines buried beneath the surface of famous works of art.

Every paint color has a distinct chemical composition. By bombarding paintings with x-rays and measuring how they are absorbed, scientists can fingerprint the pigments both at the surface and below.

The technique allows scientists to see the mistakes artists covered up, as well as the layer-by-layer iterations that resulted in famous end results.

Most of this work has happened in museums or laboratories, where smaller, portable objects can be brought to the machine. That’s tough to do with paintings on the wall of an underground tomb. So, using two portable x-ray machines, an interdisciplinary team of art historians, Egyptologists, and engineers brought the lab to the tombs instead, allowing the researchers to look beneath the surface without destroying it.

The Theban Necropolis—which includes Tutankhamun’s tomb—features hundreds of tombs, each chock full of paintings memorializing the dead.

Many art historians consider them to represent the peak of ancient Egyptian painting. X-raying them wasn’t easy: Getting the devices into the tombs meant carrying the sensitive machines through the desert into hard-to-reach areas off-limits to tourists.

Once inside the warm, humid funerary chapels, the work was slow and painstaking.

A small area could take 3 hours to scan, as crouching scientists worked centimeter by centimeter in total silence. “You feel in the heart of humanity,” says study co-author Catherine Defeyt, an art conservation scientist at the University of Liège, of working in the tombs.

When the researchers emerged to analyze their data, the results surprised them.

Many Egyptologists believed the sheer number of Egyptian paintings inside the Necropolis would have required an assembly line process, with no room for artists to return and redo work.

Yet x-rays of a well-known portrait of Rameses II, who ruled Egypt from 1279 B.C.E. to 1213 B.C.E., revealed traces of an earlier version underneath.

The previous depiction of Rameses II had a shorter crown, a different scepter, and an altered necklace—“a remarkable encounter with the ghost of the painters at work,” the team writes in the paper.

Thomas Christiansen—an Egyptologist with the Danish National Encyclopedia who wasn’t involved with the research—says the amount of reworking surprised him.

The hidden details, he says, help us “understand and appreciate the ancient Egyptian artist.” But just why the painters revised their work, changing small details like an arm’s position, may be “impossible to fathom” today, the authors note.

Christiansen speculates that the revisions suggest a master artist envisioned the project, whereas apprentices applied the paint, and the master later issued corrections. “More effort went into realizing a preconceived artistic idea than we thought,” he says.

The fact that they altered paintings at all challenges many historians’ assumptions about Egyptian art as preplanned and precise, says Philippe Martinez, lead author on the study and an Egyptologist at Sorbonne University. “What we see is that nothing is perfect. And that’s great, because they were human beings.”