Void in Egyptian Pyramid

By Parker Driscoll '19

Recently researchers and archaeologists have made a discovery in the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest of the pyramids at Giza, and it was constructed about 5,000 years ago as a tomb for Emperor Khufu. Emperor Khufu’s reign represented a time of the Egyptian Empire in which the empire thrived. Egyptologists have been continually conducting research on the pyramid and have made a groundbreaking discovery. A group of archaeologists participating in the ScanPyramids project have detected a large room within the pyramid. Considering the amount of research that has been done on the pyramids, a discovery of this scale is extremely significant.

The group consisted of archaeologists and physicists from across the globe. They used muon radiography to discover the absence of material within a portion of the pyramid. Muon radiography detects the speed of muons, subatomic particles that are constantly travelling throughout our atmosphere, and compares the speed of the particles to known speeds of muons travelling through empty space to determine if the particles are travelling through solid matter or empty space. In this case, by seeing the muon particles speed up in the pyramid, the archaeologist knew there was an empty space within the pyramid. The empty space is located above the main tomb and appears to be almost 100 feet long.

Egyptologists and scholars have debated the purpose of the room since its discovery. Archaeologists have thoroughly explored the multiple chambers in the pyramid and discerned the purpose of the structure from what they know about Egyptian culture and what they found in those chambers. A discovery of a massive new space within the pyramid has the potential to change what archaeologists believe about the purpose of the pyramids. Some argue that the structure was left unfilled so the builders could more easily construct the roof of the tomb below it. However, the possibility remains that the room may have significance to the burial practices of the Egyptians. Since there is no way to access the tomb, and the archaeologists do not want to sacrifice the structural integrity of the pyramid to explore the room, it is likely that no archaeologist will ever venture into the room and see its true purpose. Egyptologist Yukinori Kawae stated, “This is definitely the discovery of the century.”

“Mysterious Void Discovered in Egypt's Great Pyramid.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 3 Nov. 2017, news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/11/great-pyramid-giza-void-discovered-khufu-archaeology-science/.