It is one of the seven wonders of the world, but the precious objects the Great Pyramid was built to shelter for all eternity - the mummified remains of King Cheops or Khufu - have never been found, and are presumed to have been stolen by tomb robbers. Now, 4,500 years after it was completed, this semi-mythical structure may be about to reveal its greatest secret: the true resting place of the pharaoh. Using architectural analysis and ground-penetrating radar, two amateur French Egyptologists claim to have discovered a previously unknown corridor inside the pyramid. They believe it leads directly to Khufu's burial chamber, a room which - if it exists - is unlikely ever to have been violated, and probably still contains the king's remains. But Gilles Dormion, an architect, and Jean-Yves Verd'hurt, a retired property agent, have so far been refused permission by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities to follow up their findings and, they hope, prove the room's existence. "To do so, one would simply have to pass a fibre optic cable down through existing holes in the stone, to see if there are portcullis blocks in the corridor below," said Mr Verd'hurt.

"Then it will be necessary to enter the front part of the corridor and penetrate the room, taking all precautions to ensure that it is not contaminated." The portcullis blocks were large granite slabs that the ancient Egyptians lowered into the corridor leading to the king's funeral chamber, via a system of cords descending from above, to seal it after his burial.

View: Full Article | Source: The Guardian

GAH! I hate that with such important findings as this permission is never granted. Damn! Well i can't wait to see how this turns out.

The Egyptian antiquities officials have always acted this way. When evidence was put forth about the Sphinx being OLDER than originally thought, they pulled the plug on further excavations there.

They are afraid that there might be evidence that shows that these Pyramids (the three main ones on Giza that is) are A- older than originally thought, and B- that they WEREN'T simply tombs. They feel that the orthodox view of Egyptology is at grave risk... and therefore must fight against it.

What they don't realize is that the truth ALWAYS comes out in time- one way or another. Whether it's the discovery of new texts in buried tombs, or improved deep scanning devices- it ALWAYS comes out. Best to get it out of the way- and deal with it in my opinion.

For now.. just be thankful the government didn't obliterate these like Afghanistan's did with the buddist statues.

True. I'm interested to see how this develops.

They would be fools to not let the research continue. What a marketing coo. They could open the chamber live on TV. There is a pile of money to be made on something like that.

They're trying to protect their status as one of the oldes civilizations that became the basis for modern society.

If it's found that the Pyramids are older... it'll shake the foundations of human history.

That's true what they're really afraid of is that someone will prove that the Egyptians didn't build the pyramids then they lose their claim to fame.

What really scares me is that they'll discover that the new corridor leads to... a bathroom...

Haha..ha..thats funny

Stewey,

Would you mind clarifying this a little? I don't know a lot about Egyptian history, and am interested in why it would be a bad thing if they found out the pyramids were older than expected. Thanks in advance!

It's a matter of status. Egypt is one of the three Oldest Civilizations that are given credit for being the basis of the civilization that eventually evolved in Europe. The Sumarians and the Mesopotamians are also in the league. If it is found out that an OLDER civilization created the Pyramids (and possibly the Sphinx as well), well, the historians are going to have to re-arrange large chunks of their theories behind how civilization came about.

They would have to start asking questions, where did this "lost" civilization come from? Is it responsible for many of the similarities between the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean, Tigris region, and South America continent? What happened to cause their end? Did survivors of this civilization migrate elsewhere?

It is much easier to maintain a status quo than to turn 180 degrees and re-think your perceptions of history and your place in it.

Not to mention that egyptian history would suffer a major blow if it was found out that it wasnt the egyptians that created them.

True, true! It may disprove that they didn`t build the pyramids or the sphinx, but they just dont know that, they cant hold back scientific research into our past just becuase they are comfortable with the current theories on human history. The pyramids and sphinx will still be in egypt, with all their pther amazing ruins, even if some of thee of the most important aren`t really there they will still draw in the tourists and archeaologist/scientists.

They better allow further investigation and even excavation otherwise they will have to deal with me!!!

It's just that Egypt doesn't have any other claim to fame. They're not a world power, they don't have any great cultural gifts to offer and nothing else in their country can even come close to the acheivements of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids. It's kind of like America. Our archeological history is ignored because we as Americans didn't have anything to do with it. We're just the squatters who showed up later. So all the mysteries in the US are ignored and nobody cares about them.

Thanks Stewey and everyone! I understand now.

They might just find a large headed small bodied mummy in the room . That would surely bring in tourists.

Q-La, there is always that possibility.

Graham Hancock, in his books puts forth that the pyramids aren't tombs, but rather that they are a way to inspire new thought (and curiosity) in future generations. If so, they have been successful, because humanity's curiosity about the pyramids (and the Sphinx too) has always been stimulated by new little discoveries made about them- such as how the three Great Pyramids, when in conjunction with the Nile seem to form a terrestial diagram of the Milky Way (the Nile), and the stars of Orion's Belt (the three Great Pyramids of Giza). Also the discovery of the door by the first robot excursion that took place. Could the Pyramid truly be a tool to help us make us ask questions, and find answers?

I'll be watching this as much as I can.

I'm sure if theygave money to the right person, they would be able to continue their search into this chamber. After all, that is how the world works

It's been done before- but each time evidence is found that these monuments are older than originally thought, their permits get pulled, and they get kicked off the site.