Hidden corridor in Egypt’s Great Pyramid mapped with cosmic rays

A beforehand hidden hall buried deep within the 4500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt has been mapped intimately for the primary time – and researchers have additionally taken a glimpse inside utilizing an endoscopic digicam.

The hall was first found in 2016, however researchers didn’t wish to injury the monument to realize entry. The pyramid is the one one of many seven wonders of the traditional world nonetheless standing, and was – till the 1889 building of the Eiffel Tower – the world’s tallest human-made construction at 146 metres. It was constructed round 2560 BCE in the course of the reign of the Pharoah Khufu.

Using a method known as cosmic-ray muon radiography developed by lecturers on the University of Nagoya, Japan, the researchers might verify that the hall was 9 metres lengthy, with a cross part of about 2 metres by 2 metres.

Cosmic-ray muon radiography tracks the extent of radiation passing by way of the pyramid partitions. In the method, radiation is fired by way of the pyramid and researchers measure the variety of muons that arrive at detectors positioned at varied factors across the monument. Muons are partially absorbed by stone used to construct the pyramids, which suggests the method permits researchers to determine the place there are cavities contained in the construction.

The method has been used to map out the inner constructions of pyramids since 1971, when it was first used at Giza.

Using their exact map of the hall, the researchers recognized a chance. “We realised that it was so close to the surface that an endoscopy was possible,” says Sébastien Procureur on the University of Paris-Saclay in France.

They inserted a small digicam much like these utilized in medical procedures to seize the primary glimpse of the hall in hundreds of years.

“We knew the cavity was there, but of course it’s totally different when you see it,” says Procureur. “We felt strange when we saw this.”

Still, Procureur was glad of 1 factor. “It’s a controversial opinion, but I’m relieved the cavity was empty. I wouldn’t have liked to participate in opening a tomb.”