The Great Pyramids of Giza have been one of the most awe-inspiring accomplishments of humanity ever since thousands of years ago. Though as many millions of tourists have stared at their towering limestone faces, there is an even more interesting story lurking behind the curtain.
What is under the Great Pyramids? That is the question that has motivated archaeologists, historians, and adventurers over the centuries — and the answers are even more interesting, and more perplexing, than most people imagine.
Why People want to know what is beneath the Great Pyramids?
It is something all too human about wanting to see behind things. There is something alluring about what is hidden, what is sealed, what has been resolved to be buried by someone or some ancient civilization. The Great Pyramids of Giza enhance that instinct to nearly inexcusable levels. The following is the reason as to why the question always remains:
The scale cannot be simply explained. The Great Pyramid of Khufu houses an approximated 2.3 million stone blocks, a few of which weighed up to 80 tons. Such an exertion implies that something very important was being guarded - or hidden.
Access by officials is very limited. The pyramids and the Giza plateau are not only closed to the public, but also many researchers, which adds to the speculation.
The discovery of modern scanning has come as a surprise. Thermal imaging, muon tomography and ground penetrating radar have identified voids and structures that nobody has ever set foot on.
There are allusions in ancient literature. The underground chambers under the plateau of Giza were described by Greek historian Herodotus, who wrote of an island in the middle of the water where the body of Cheops supposedly lay.
Permits to excavate are seldom issued. This leaves outsiders to speculate upon what authorities may be attempting to guard against - or merely guard.
Spotlight of Great Pyramids of Giza.
The pyramid complex of Giza is located on the west bank of the Nile, on the outskirts of modern Cairo. It has three large pyramids, each bearing the name of the pharaoh on whom it was constructed:
The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) - Built around 2560 BCE, the oldest and largest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was initially 146.5 meters in height.
The Pyramid of Khafre - A little smaller but erected upon the elevation of the ground, so that it appeared somewhat taller than it was in reality. There is still some of the original white limestone casing on the top.
The Pyramid of Menkaure - The smallest of three, only about 65 meters tall, but still an outstanding work in ancient construction.
Other features of this complex are the Great Sphinx, satellite pyramids, temples, causeways and a vast system of tombs. The pyramids were constructed as royal tombs - permanent houses of body and spirit of the pharaoh in the afterlife. These were not just monuments. They were prudently constructed religious and functional buildings, which were designed to endure eternity.
What is under the Great Pyramids?
This is where the matter lies. So, what lies beneath the Great Pyramids, actually? The solution lies in the distance below the surface at which you are prepared to descend. Broadly speaking, this is all we know there is any farther south of the Giza plateau:
Bedrock and natural limestone geology. The pyramids were constructed on a huge plateau of natural limestone, which extends downward a thousand feet.
Purposely cut chambers and shafts. The room, corridors, and passages of the pyramids were cut by the ancient builders into the bedrock, which was below each pyramid.
A system of natural and artificial tunnels. Others were used as a grave or cairn, others as a place of worship and others might have been used as a drainage or venting point.
The level of groundwater and aquifer. The closeness of the Nile implies that water is located under the plateau. Other scholars are of the view that this was deliberately put in by the ancient engineers in the burial rituals.
Unexcavated structures. Ground-penetrating radar surveys have found dozens of anomalies that have never been excavated, indicating there is much more than what has been officially catalogued.
Underground Chambers Inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu
The best-researched part of Khufu pyramid provides the clearest insight into the construction beneath the monuments by ancient Egyptian architects. The familiar internal structure comprises:
The Subterranean Chamber
Holed in the rock, beneath the pyramid, this is the oldest and lowest known room. It never was completed. There is also a debate among scholars whether it was the planned burial chamber, or a decoy to mislead tomb robbers.
The Queen Chamber
In the middle of the pyramid and bearing an erroneous name-it was not constructed on behalf of a queen. Its real use is a matter of conjecture, with theories including an earlier intended burial chamber, or a place where a sacred royal statue would be found.
The Grand Gallery
This is a rapidly ascending corbelled passageway that measures almost 9 meters in height and 47 meters in length. It is ascending towards the King Chamber and it is one of the most marvelous engineering designs ever to be discovered within a pyramid.
The King Chamber
This is made of all red granite and is assumed to be the final place of rest of Khufu. It is filled with a sarcophagus without a lid. There has never been a mummy found in this place.
Air shafts
There are two pairs of these narrow shafts which run out of Queen Chambers and King Chambers. Other scholars hold that they coincide with certain stars; other scholars claim that they were used to provide ventilation.
In 2017, in the ScanPyramids project, muon tomography was used to find a large previously unknown void above the Grand Gallery - at least 30 meters long. It has not been registered. Its contents are not known.
Secret Tunnels and Structures underneath the Pyramids.
The ground beneath the plateau Giza is also riddled with tunnels and chambers which have been more or less explored and vastly under-reported. Some of the recorded instances are:
The Osiris Shaft
This is a multi-tiered underground construction, which is approximately 30 meters in depth. The bottom level has a huge sarcophagus and is half-flooded. In 1999, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass explored it, and assumed that it was a symbolic tomb, linked to the cult of Osiris.
Campbell's Tomb area
The area south of the Great Pyramid is named after a 19th-century British consul, who can be found there. Tunnels here have been long known, but never thoroughly explored.
Findings of French engineer Emile Baraize (1920s1930s)
When clearing the area around the Sphinx, the French engineer Emile Baraize reported numerous tunnels and rooms. His findings on many of them were never published.
Ground-penetrating radar anomalies
Multiple studies have reported what seems to be a large rectangular chamber underneath the left paw of the Sphinx. The Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt has not given the green light to dig this site.
Theories As To What Is beneath the great Pyramids.
Since a large part of the underground Giza landscape is unexcavated, theories have proliferated - from the scientifically based, to the outrageously imaginative:
A rich royal burial complex.
The theory that is most popular among Egyptologists. There were also multiple chambers, decoy shafts and sealed corridors all designed to safeguard the body and burial items of the pharaoh.
A water management system.
Some geologists suggest that the purpose of tunneling under the plateau was hydraulic - controlling Nile flooding and safeguarding the structures above.
The Hall of Records.
Popularized by psychic Edgar Cayce, this theory states that there was a huge underground library belonging to the lost civilization of Atlantis, and that this library is buried under the Sphinx. It is not credited at all by mainstream archaeology.
Hidden royal treasures.
As there has been no intact burial of Khufu, Khafre, or Menkaure, some researchers believe that the true burial sites of Khufu, Khafre, or Menkaure still lie somewhere uncovered beneath the plateau.
Astrological or ritualized areas.
Other researchers say that the alignments of the shafts imply the existence of underground arenas or spaces used as ceremonial spaces and aligned with the stars - a type of spiritual architecture built into the earth itself.
Myths vs Facts: Myth busting the most popular Pyramid conspiracy theories.
Myth: The pyramids were constructed by aliens or by a lost advanced civilization. Fact: Archaeological evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that they were constructed by organized groups of Egyptian workers - skilled workers who lived nearby, ate well, received medical care and were buried with honor.
Myth: Under Giza lies a hidden city underground. Fact: There are long tunnels and chambers, some of which have not been explored. There is, however, no known record of a city. The identified subterranean features include tombs, shafts, and sacrificial areas.
Myth: The Egyptian government is concealing alien artifacts. Fact: The most important reason to have access restrictions is that irreplaceable sites should not be spoiled by people and looting. Bureaucratic scrupulousness and conservationist interests tell much more than any cover-up.
Myth: There is a hidden chamber of the Sphinx filled with lost ancient knowledge. Fact: Radar has identified abnormalities around the Sphinx. It is not known whether they are natural caves or artificial chambers. No underground library has ever been located.
Myth: The pyramids are much older than Egyptologists believe. Fact: Radiocarbon dating, astronomical alignments, inscriptions, and historical records all consistently date the Great Pyramid to date to approximately 2560 BCE.
Why So Much Has Yet To Be Explored.
With the modern technology and the fascination in the world, it can be questioned why there are so many questions left unanswered. The causes are more complicated than the majority of people think:
The issues of preservation are a reality. Any excavation will endanger the destruction of buildings that have 4,500 years of history. The humidity, bacteria, modern air, introduced into sealed ancient spaces can cause a rapid deterioration.
Research is retarded by political and institutional forces. All excavation permits are controlled by the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt. International teams need to collaborate with Egyptian institutions and the bureaucratic process is lengthy.
The plateau is gigantic. The Giza complex occupies an area of over two square kilometers on the surface and an area of up to an equal number of square kilometers underground. To map it out entirely would be a generations task.
There is slow but steady improvement in technology. Muon tomography and ground-penetrating radar are able to reveal new features without touching a single stone - but the interpretation of a scan anomaly to a known chamber is still something a physical investigation is required to check out.
You cannot save everything when it is opened. Papyrus, wood, textiles or mummified remains may be housed in sealed chambers, where they would disintegrate within hours of being exposed to modern air.
The consequence of this is that we know more now than at any previous time, but there are still great mysteries, which are really unsolved, that is, not solved by anybody, but rather because the work of discovering the truth is very slow, costly, and irreversible.
Conclusion
The question of what there is beneath the Great Pyramids lacks a single clean answer - and that is exactly what makes it one of the most persistent mysteries in the history of mankind.
We are aware of rooms, tunnels, and shafts excavated deep under the bedrock of the Giza plateau. We are aware that scanning technology has seen the detection of voids that have never been literally entered.
We have learned that a good deal of the underground terrain is officially unexplored. What we do not know is whether those uncharted areas contain empty decoy chambers, closed burial items, perfectly preserved organic remains, or something no one has yet dreamed of. And when it does come, it will almost certainly rewrite, at any rate, some part of that which we believe to know of one of the greatest civilizations that ever existed. Until this time the pyramids preserve their secrets. And we keep asking.
FAQS
What have they found in the pyramids in Egypt?
Internal chambers, granite sarcophagi, air shafts, and the Grand Gallery within the Great Pyramid of Khufu have been found by researchers. In 2017, a massive previously unknown hole was observed above the Grand Gallery with the aid of muon tomography - the contents of the hole are unknown.
What is mysterious about the three pyramids of Giza?
No complete royal burial was ever located in any of the three pyramids although the pyramids were constructed as burial monuments. Their high level of construction, astronomical alignments and the uncovered underground abnormalities under the plateau remains a mystery to many researchers across the globe.
Could there be water beneath the Great Pyramids?
Yes — the Giza plateau is above a water table that is linked to the Nile. Part of the underground chambers, such as the lowest level of the Osiris Shaft, are flooded, and ancient Egyptians may have intentionally included water features in their burial rituals.
Did any one ever discover a mummy in the Great Pyramid?
No mummy has ever been found inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu. Only a lidless granite sarcophagus with no remains is present in the King Chamber, making this type of object a great unsolved problem in the history of archaeology.
Do the pyramids still hold undiscovered rooms under the pyramids?
Yes. Ground-penetrating radar and muon tomography have identified multiple anomalies within the Giza complex that have never been physically excavated, and Egyptian authorities have not yet authorized exploration of many of these sites.