The oldest of the world’s wonders. A formidable construction no matter how you look at it, enduring thousands of years of desert hostility and surprising the experts. The Great Pyramid of Giza has shared all its magic with us, but it has something more to offer: a new secret chamber. The scientists determined it sits above the Grand Gallery, and to detect it they used a complex system based on cosmic radiation.
138.8 meters “current”. 230 meters at its base. More than 4,500 years old. Anyone might think that Hemiunu, the vizier of Khufu (Jufu), knew very well what he was doing, but it has not yet been established 100 percent that he was the architect of the Great Pyramid of Giza, although it is known he was responsible for all royal projects. However, we don’t understand the pyramid as much as we would like. Its construction gave rise to contradictory hypotheses and very heated debates. Exploration is slow for very obvious reasons, and any possibility of damage (however controlled) is completely ruled out. The discovery of a new chamber (“grand void” according to the researchers) is extraordinary news in itself, but on a similar level is the detection method.
The team combined three different techniques to collect muons, basically “remains” of cosmic rays produced naturally in the atmosphere that can easily penetrate rock. It is the same technology used to study active volcanoes. A “muography” records the pattern of muons as they pass through material. When they hit rock, their path deviates slightly, but when moving through empty space, it stays intact. Confirmation of the secret chamber demanded three separate tests. It is estimated that the size is a little smaller than the Grand Gallery (30 meters), and it sits on average 16 meters above the surface.
The rest is pure mystery. The experts seem convinced that the secret chamber is real, and it is not an irregular element that arose during the construction of the pyramid, but they have no idea about its function. Could it be something necessary to preserve the structural integrity, or is it a secondary tomb? There are many discussions on the horizon.
