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The mystery of how the pyramids were built may have finally been solved thanks to the discovery of an ancient branch of the Nile that once flowed through Giza. Hundreds of meters wide, the enormous waterway has long since dried up, but could have provided transportation for the colossal amounts of material and workers needed to construct the iconic landmarks thousands of years ago.

Peter James believes ancient Egyptians formed the huge tombs by piling up rubble and small rocks on the inside and attaching the large bricks on the outside later rather than using giant blocks carried up ramps. There's much debate over how the pyramids were buil AN engineer dubbed Indiana James has stunned archaeologists by rubbishing their theories on how the pyramids were built. Peter James believes ancient Egyptians formed the huge tombs by piling up rubble and small rocks on the inside and attaching the large bricks on the outside later. His claim challenges hundreds of years of accepted belief...

Dr Chris Naunton believes, despite having felt quite optimistic about the discovery of the "big void" in Khufu's pyramid several years ago, the efforts at the site are being severely hampered by government restrictions and bureaucracy, which puts off quite a few Ancient Egypt enthusiasts working there... Five years ago, the ScanPyramids project was launched to provide several non-invasive and non-destructive techniques that would improve historians' understanding of how the pyramid was constructed over 4,500 years ago. Two years later, they solemnly announced the discovery of a "Big Void" -- an intriguing 30-metre cavity located above the Grand Gallery. However,...

A huge void discovered inside the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt late last year may hold an iron throne carved from meteorites, according to new analysis of ancient religious texts. Giulio Magli, Director of the Department of Mathematics and Professor of Archaeoastronomy at the Politecnico di Milano, studied the Pyramid Texts, religious writings carved into pyramid walls around 2400 BC. Based on his studies, Magli proposes that it’s possible the throne of Pharaoh Khufu – or ‘Cheops’ – lies inside the chamber. ================================================================================================================================ “Of course it would not be melted iron but meteoritic iron, that is, fallen from the...

Zahi Hawass, who heads the ScanPyramids science committee overseeing the project, said there was no new "discovery". He said he had met other scientists from ScanPyramids who "showed us their conclusions, and we informed them this is not a discovery," he told AFP. "The pyramid is full of voids and that does not mean there is a secret chamber or a new discovery," he said. In a statement on Friday, the head of the government's antiquities council Mustafa Waziri also criticised the announcement. "The project has to proceed in a scientific way that follows the steps of scientific research and...

An international team of researchers said Sunday they will soon begin analyzing cosmic particles collected inside Egypt's Bent Pyramid to search for clues as to how it was built and learn more about the 4,600-year-old structure. Mehdi Tayoubi, president of the Heritage Innovation Preservation Institute, said that plates planted inside the pyramid last month have collected data on radiographic particles known as muons that rain down from the earth's atmosphere. The particles pass through empty spaces but can be absorbed or deflected by harder surfaces. By studying particle accumulations, scientists may learn more about the construction of the pyramid, built...

The thermal scanning was made at sunrise as the sun heats the structures from the outside, and then at sunset when the pyramids are cooling down. The speed of the heating and cooling phases was used to uncover "anomalies" such as empty areas in the pyramids, which could be internal air currents or different building materials. Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty told reporters at a press conference, which was held Monday night at the step of the Great Pyramid plateau, that the result of the infrared thermography scan on the first row of the pyramid’s limestone blocks shows that all...

Starting November, the pyramids of Giza will be subject to a non-invasive survey in an attempt to unravel their secrets four millennia after their construction. “Several theories have been brought forward during the past century to understand the method that the ancient Egyptians used to construct the pyramids but all are still scientific hypotheses,” Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty told Ahram Online. Eldamaty continued, saying that the ScanPyramids project is a new means to learn how the pyramids were built and understand the reason behind the pyramid-shaped design. The scans will also detect the existence of any hidden chambers, corridors,...

Jean-Pierre Houdin -- who was rebuffed three years ago by Egypt in his appeal for a probe into how the Pyramid was built -- said 3-D simulation and data from a U.S. egyptologist, Bob Brier, pointed to two secret chambers in the heart of the structure. The rooms would have housed furniture for use in the afterlife by the pharaoh Khufu, also known as Cheops in Greek, he told a press conference. "I am convinced there are antechambers in this pyramid. What I want is to find them," he said. In March 2007, Houdin advanced the theory that the Great...

All of the current theories -- a long, straight ramp, a ramp that corkscrewed around the outside of the pyramid, or cranelike shadoufs (used in Egypt until recently for irrigating fields) -- have serious flaws... architect Jean-Pierre Houdin and I presented a radical new theory: that blocks of stone were raised to the very top of the pyramid on an internal ramp. We gave what we felt was strong evidence for the theory, which explains a French team's microgravemetric survey in the 1980s that recorded variations in the density of the pyramid... an image from the survey may show a...

Using cutting edge technology, Egyptologist Bob Brier of the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University delved into the only standing wonder of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid, and uncovered the mystery behind cracks in the massive Egyptian structure, unearthing a new room along the way. Brier, French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin and a team of software specialists from Dassault Systems in Paris used 3-D modeling software to determine that the burial chamber's stone support beams cracked as final construction of the Giza wonder was near completion 4,500 years ago. The team discovered that the cracks occurred when three...

A French architect said on Friday he had cracked a 4,500-year-old mystery surrounding Egypt's Great Pyramid, saying it was built from the inside out. Previous theories have suggested Pharaoh Khufu's tomb, the last surviving example of the seven great wonders of antiquity, was built using either a vast frontal ramp or a ramp in a corkscrew shape around the exterior to haul up the stonework. But flouting previous wisdom, Jean-Pierre Houdin said advanced 3D technology had shown the main ramp which was used to haul the massive stones to the apex was contained 10-15 meters beneath the outer skin, tracing...

PARIS - A French architect claimed Friday to have uncovered the mystery about how Egypt's Great Pyramid of Khufu was built — with use of a spiral ramp to hoist huge stone blocks into place. The construction of the Great Pyramid 4,500 years ago by Khufu, a ruler also known as Cheops, has long befuddled scientists as to how its 3 million stone blocks weighing 2.5 tons each were lifted into place. Ending eight years of study on the subject, architect Jean-Pierre Houdin released his findings and a computerized 3-D mockup showing how workers would have erected the pyramid at...

Archaeologists have uncovered a mysterious enclosure hidden deep inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The massive cavity stretches for at least 30 metres and lies above the grand gallery, an impressive ascending corridor that connects the Queen’s chamber to the King’s in the heart of the historic monument. It is the first major structure found in the pyramid since the 19th century. It is unclear whether the void is a chamber or a corridor, or whether it played any more than a structural role in the pyramid’s construction – such...

The structure, also known as Khufu's Pyramid, is the sole survivor of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. ... The scientists made the discovery using cosmic-ray imaging, recording the behaviour of subatomic particles called muons that penetrate the rock. Detectors were set up inside the pyramid, including in the so-called Queen's Chamber. This allowed the pyramid's insides to be seen without physically disturbing it, as the results showed empty space differently from rock. The presence of the space, dubbed the ScanPyramids Big Void, was confirmed using three different detection technologies over several months after first being spotted, the paper...

Muon-detecting sensors have revealed a huge hidden cavity hidden within the pyramid – the first major structural find since the 19th century Archaeologists have uncovered a mysterious enclosure hidden deep inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The massive cavity stretches for at least 30 metres and lies above the grand gallery, an impressive ascending corridor that connects the Queen’s chamber to the King’s in the heart of the historic monument. It is the first major structure found in the pyramid since the 19th century. It is unclear whether the void...

The device enters rooms and chambers through a 3.5 centimetre hole drilled through a wall by researchers outside. It is made up of two robots, a tubular machine equipped with a high definition camera and a probe that explores the structure via a small, inflatable blimp. After the first robot has taken a series of reconnaissance images, the drone is pushed through the drilled hole before inflating itself within the chamber. Packed with an array of sensors and cameras, the remote-controlled device collects data and takes photos or video without causing damage to the fragile building. After it has completed...