Egyptian officials discovered a hidden corridor above the entrance to the Great Pyramid of Giza on Thursday, Mar. 2.

      The Great Pyramid of Giza has been under observation since 2015, with researchers utilizing cosmic-ray imaging and infrared thermography to map out the interior. These scans highlighted several voids, including a 30-foot passage behind a chevron-shaped array of stones. 

      It was found by researchers from the Scan Pyramid Project, an international mission using radiographic muons, 3D reconstruction techniques, and infrared technology to explore the internal structures of the pyramid. These methods allow an investigation without causing any destruction to the archaic wonder. 

      The Scan Pyramids Project first observed this cavity in 2016. Since then, the team has largely focused on determining the measurements and characteristics of the corridor. It measures about 2 meters wide and 9 meters long, designed to relieve some of the weight of the pyramid which was built as a royal burial chamber.

      The pyramid was built 4,500 years ago and is considered the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. Having been built during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu, a chevron technique was used to prevent the pyramid from collapsing over time. Due to this technique, another cavity was found on the northeastern edge the year before. 

      Head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, shared that “a big question mark hangs over whether this corridor was created to relieve the weight on the [main] entrance or lighten the load on a space yet to be discovered,” after a press conference in front of the pyramid.

      The Pyramids of Giza were built to be long-lasting tombs for the pharaohs and kings of Egypt. Under these pyramids lies an entire system of tunnels, chambers, and caves that now foster a delicate ecosystem of bats and spiders. The technology used by The Scan Pyramids team has revealed this along with the possibility that there are other voids to be explored. 

      “This corridor, it’s protecting or reducing the pressure on something beneath it. Might be a chamber, might be something else,” said Mostafa Waziri. “We’re going to continue our scanning so we will see what we can do … to figure out what we can find beneath it, or just by the end of this corridor.”

      Former Egyptian minister of antiquities and archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, shared that “this discovery, in my opinion, is the most important discovery of the 21st century. The discovery today tells us there is something important to be discovered soon under that tunnel, which could be the real burial chamber of Khufu.”

      Thanks to cosmic-ray technology, the hidden corridor within The Great Pyramid of Giza may lead to the discovery of other features hidden within the only Great Wonder still standing.