A new chamber dating back some 4,500 years has been discovered in one of Egypt’s great pyramids.
A corridor nine meters (30 feet) long and more than six feet wide was found near the main entrance of one of the three pyramids at Giza.
The ScanPyramids project used high-tech equipment to excavate the secret chamber located on the north side of the Pyramid of Khufu.
Archaeologists have been puzzled by the function of the chamber, which cannot be accessed from outside the pyramid.
The project, which has been underway since 2015, saw an unveiling ceremony attended by scientists on Thursday.
Nondestructive testing professor Christian Gross said a variety of scanning techniques were used to locate the chamber, including ultrasonic measurements and ground-penetrating radar.
Scientists examined the corridor using advanced radiography, then collected images of it by sending a tiny endoscope through a tiny slit in the pyramid’s stone.
The Great Pyramid is one of the last remaining wonders of the world
“There are two large limestone blocks in the room at the end and the question now is what is behind those stones and under the room,” Mr Gross said.
Egyptian antiquities officials said the discovery could lead to further discoveries.
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Mostafa Waziri, the Supreme Council of Antiquities, speculates that the unfinished corridor was used to redistribute the weight of the pyramid around the main entrance used by tourists or around another undiscovered room or space.
Mr Waziri added: “We’re going to keep scanning to see what we can do … to figure out what we can find under it, or just at the end of this corridor.”
Another even longer enclosed corridor was discovered in 2017 at the Pyramid of Khufu, measuring 98 feet long.
The Pyramid of Khufu, named after its creator – a Fourth Dynasty pharaoh who reigned from 2509 BC to 2483 BC – is one of three that make up the Great Pyramid, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World One, still standing today.