The ScanPyramids[1] mission is an Egyptian-International project designed and led by
Cairo University and the French
HIP Institute (Heritage Innovation Preservation).[2] This project aims at scanning Old Kingdom
Egyptian Pyramids (
Khufu,
Khafre,
the Bent and the
Red) to detect the presence of unknown internal voids and structures.[3]
The project, launched in October 2015,[4] combines several non-invasive and non-destructive techniques which may help to get a better understanding of their structure and their construction processes and techniques.[clarification needed] The team is currently using
Infrared thermography,
muon tomography, 3D simulation and reconstruction techniques.[5][6]
ScanPyramids is an interdisciplinary project mixing art, science and technology.[7] On November 2, 2017, the ScanPyramids team announced, through a publication in
Nature,[8] its third discovery in
the Great Pyramid, a "plane-sized"[9] previously unknown void named the "ScanPyramids Big Void".[10]
Discoveries
2016
On October 15, 2016, ScanPyramids confirmed their first unknown void discoveries thanks to
muon tomography in
the Great Pyramid.[11][12] A previously unknown cavity[13] was confirmed on the North-Eastern Edge,[14] roughly at 110 metres (360 ft) high with similar void volume characteristics as a known "cave" located at 83 metres (272 ft) on the same edge.[15]
A second void was discovered behind the chevrons area of
Khufu's North Face above the Descending Corridor (referred to as "SP-NFC" in papers). This area was investigated after thermal anomalies observation that led the team to position
muon emulsion plates in the Descending Corridor.[5][16] This void was further investigated during 2017 to provide more information about its shape, size, and exact position.[5][17]
2017
In 2017 more
muon-sensitive emulsion plates were positioned in the descending corridor and in
Al-Mamun's tunnel. The void behind the chevrons could be confirmed through different points of view and its characteristics refined. Named "ScanPyramids North-Face Corridor" (SP-NFC), this void is located between 17 and 23 metres (56 and 75 ft) from
the Great Pyramid's ground level, between 0.7 and 2 metres (2 ft 4 in and 6 ft 7 in) from the North Face. It could be horizontal or sloping upwards and it has a corridor-like shape.[19]
On November 2, 2017, the ScanPyramids team published its third discovery in Nature, which was named "ScanPyramids Big Void", or "SP-BV" for short. It describes a newly discovered huge void in a circumscribed area above the
Grand Gallery. It is estimated to have a length of at least 30 metres (98 ft) and a similar cross-section as the
Grand Gallery. The ScanPyramids Big Void has been observed by three teams of physicists from different points of view (2 points of view in the
Queen's Chamber and from outside in front of the North Face).[8]
Three scientific institutions specializing in particle physics have worked independently and each one used a different and complementary
muography technique:
Nagoya University,
Japan: Nuclear emulsion plates in the Queen's Chamber under the leadership of Professor Morishima Kunihiro[20][21]
Like the work done on the "ScanPyramids North Face Corridor", more
muography observations, from new viewpoints, need to be conducted in order to better determine the Big Void's shape, so that functional inferences can be drawn.[22][unreliable source?][23]
As long the exact layout and function of the void is still unknown, the scientists have been cautious about using architectural nomenclature.[24]
On November 2, 2017, the Egyptologist
Zahi Hawass told the
New York Times: "They found nothing...This paper offers nothing to Egyptology. Zero."[27]
On November 3, 2017, Egypt's
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement, "The existence of several void spaces inside the pyramid is not a new thing. Egyptologists and scholars knew about it several years ago," adding, "the ministry sees that the ScanPyramid team should not rushed [sic] to publish their findings in media at that stage of their research because it requires more research and it is too early to say that there was a new discovery."[28]
On November 4,
Khaled al-Anany, Egyptian Minister of Antiquities said, during a press conference, that the void space found inside the Great
Pyramid of Khufu by the ScanPyramids project is a new revelation that brought the world's attention to
Egypt. He added "What was discovered is new and larger than the known cavities, and we'll continue in our scientific steps".[29]
Other
Egyptologists have welcomed the discovery. Yukinori Kawae told
National Geographic "This is definitely the discovery of the century...There have been many hypotheses about the pyramid, but no one even imagined that such a big void is located above the
Grand Gallery."[30][31]
Lee Thompson, an expert in particle physics at the
University of Sheffield (UK) told
Science: "The scientists have "seen" the void using three different
muon detectors in three independent experiments, which makes their finding very robust."[33] Christopher Morris, physicist at
Los Alamos National Laboratory called the findings "pretty amazing".[34] Jerry Anderson who worked on
Khafre's Pyramid and was a member of the team of
Luis Walter Alvarez, the first scientist to use
muography inside a pyramid in 1965,[35] said to
Los Angeles Times, with a laugh: "I am very excited and very pleased,...I wish we had worked in the
Great Pyramid, now that I look back on it".[36]
^Fleur, Nicholas St (November 2, 2017).
"Inside Giza's Great Pyramid, Scientists Discover a Void". The New York Times.
Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018. They found nothing," said Dr. Hawass, noting that such construction gaps had been known of for at least two decades. "This paper offers nothing to Egyptology. Zero.
^"Mysterious Void Discovered in Egypt's Great Pyramid". November 2, 2017. Archived from
the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018. There have been many hypotheses about the pyramid, but no one even imagined that such a big void is located above the Grand Gallery.
^Sample, Ian (November 2, 2017).
"Archaeologists discover mysterious void deep within Great Pyramid of Giza". the Guardian.
Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018. Peter Der Manuelian, professor of Egyptology and director of the Harvard Semitic Museum, said the discovery was "potentially a major contribution to our knowledge about the Great Pyramid."