Beneath the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza – one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world – there is a large area called the Western Cemetery or Western Field of Giza, where many nobles are buried.
This ancient cemetery is characterized by a series of mastabas, flat-roofed and rectangular tombs built of limestone or mud bricks, arranged in straight rows.
However, the latest excavation from Higashi Nippon International University, Tohoku University (Japan) and the National Research Institute for Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG – Egypt) shows completely different characteristics. Great.
Cluster of unusual structures marked with different colors and red checkers in the Western Cemetery – Photo: ARCHAEOLOGY PROSPECTION
According to the Daily, the research team used a combination of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to thoroughly survey the Western Cemetery.
That’s when a large and mysterious L-shaped structure appeared like a ghost at the southern edge of the cemetery. It appears vaguely in the image because it is a structure hidden deep underground, with the highest part located 2 meters underground.
The entire structure is now filled with sand, but scientists believe it is a tunnel leading to deeper structures below.
Besides this L-shaped structure, a series of other unusual traces seem to strengthen that argument.
These anomalous features are located at a depth of 3.5 – 5 m, below the L-shaped structure. There are even 2 structures up to 11 m deep.
“These unusual structures could be vertical limestone walls or shafts leading to parts of a tomb,” the authors wrote in the scientific journal Archeology Prospection.
The data shows that these structures are interconnected, forming a single “underworld” hidden beneath the ancient cemetery.
It is currently impossible to confirm whether this structure is a tomb or not, or was it built for some other purpose? And, is there anyone resting inside or not, because images from ground-penetrating reconnaissance vehicles are often quite blurry.
However, this discovery will open a new excavation, promising many interesting things.
Archaeologists do not know the age of these structures, but they can be predicted to be related to the Great Pyramid.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the common name for the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the largest pyramid in the Giza complex, including the Great Pyramid, Khafre pyramid and Menkaure pyramid.
This wonder is 146 m high and was built about 2,500 years BC and is now 4,500 years old.