A mysterious hidden corridor has been discovered in the Great Pyramid of Giza

Egyptian antiquities officials announced on Thursday the discovery of a hidden corridor, which is nine meters (30 feet) long, close to the main entrance of the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza, as per CNN. This discovery could lead to further findings from the Scan Pyramids project, which since 2015 has been using non-invasive technology such as infrared thermography, 3D simulations and cosmic-ray imaging to peer inside the structure.

Moreover, an article published in the journal Nature on Thursday suggests that the discovery could provide new knowledge about the construction of the pyramid and the purpose of a gabled limestone structure that sits in front of the corridor. It is the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing, so it is an exciting discovery that could potentially reveal many secrets about the past.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was constructed as a monumental tomb during the reign of the Pharaoh Khufu, also known as Cheops, around 2560 BC. At the time of its completion, it was the tallest structure made by humans, standing at a height of 146 meters (479 feet). This record stood for a long time until the construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1889. Recently, scientists have discovered an unfinished corridor inside the pyramid, which is believed to have been created to redistribute the weight of the pyramid around the main entrance, which is now used by tourists and is located almost seven meters away from the corridor.

Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, has suggested that the corridor could also be redistributed around another undiscovered chamber or space. To further investigate this corridor, the researchers are now using cosmic-ray muon radiography to detect the corridor's intricacies before retrieving images of it with a 6mm-thick endoscope from Japan by feeding it through a tiny joint in the pyramid's stones. Additionally, there are five rooms atop the king's burial chamber located in another part of the pyramid, which is also thought to have been built to redistribute the weight of the pyramid. Moreover, Mostafa Waziri has suggested that the Pharaoh may have had more than one burial chamber.

In 2017, Scan Pyramids researchers announced the discovery of a void at least 30 meters long inside the Great Pyramid, the first major inner structure found since the 19th century. With these new discoveries, researchers are hopeful that further investigations of the pyramid will reveal more information about the ancient structure in detail.

For now, the purpose of this newly discovered corridor remains unknown. It may lead to a chamber, or it may simply be a way to redistribute the weight of the pyramid, or maybe something entirely different. Regardless, the discovery of this secret corridor is a significant step in understanding the secrets of the Great Pyramid of Giza that could potentially unlock more of its mysteries.