Scientists have discovered a new corridor near the main entrance of the Great Pyramid of Giza, media reported, citing Egyptian antiquities officials.
According to the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa, the corridor, which is nine meters long and a bit more than two meters wide, was found in the pyramid during a scan of the Giza Valley monuments that began in 2015.
It is noted that the corridor was probably designed to lighten the weight of the huge structure, which was built as royal burial chambers around 2560 BC.
“This discovery, in my opinion, is the most important discovery of the 21st century,” Egypt’s former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass said, as quoted by media.
Scientists discovered the corridor using cosmic ray muon radiography before obtaining images of it by passing a 6mm thick endoscope, developed in Japan, through a tiny connection in the pyramid's stones.
The Giza pyramids archaeological complex is located on the Giza plateau near Cairo - on the west bank of the river Nile. The complex is more than 4,500 years old. It consists of three pyramids of the pharaohs of the fourth dynasty: Chephren, Cheops (Khufu) and Meekerin.