A significant void hidden within the Great Pyramid of Giza for about 4,500 years has been confirmed by three independent research teams utilizing various detection methods, as detailed in a study published in Nature. This void is situated directly above the pyramid’s Grand Gallery and spans at least 30 meters in length, which is comparable to the Grand Gallery itself, a notable architectural feature of the monument.
This discovery marks the first significant internal structure found in the Great Pyramid since the 1800s. Subsequent scans have increased that initial length estimate to 40 meters, further indicating that the void is a single continuous space rather than a collection of smaller areas.
How Physicists Scanned a Monument Built 4,500 Years Ago
The ScanPyramids mission, directed by Cairo University alongside the French Heritage Innovation Preservation (HIP) Institute, employed a method known as muon radiography to explore the pyramid’s interior without needing to drill or cut into the stone. Muons, tiny particles generated when cosmic rays hit atoms in Earth’s atmosphere, can pass through dense materials at a predictable rate. By installing detectors both inside and outside the pyramid, researchers were able to pinpoint voids based on the variance in particle flow.
Research teams from Nagoya University and Japan’s High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) placed detectors in the Queen’s Chamber and on the pyramid’s exterior, respectively. Meanwhile, physicists from France’s Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA) set up gas detector telescopes on the northern face of the pyramid.
All three teams, using their own methods, confirmed the presence of the same void. “A void of this size can’t be just a coincidence,” commented Mehdi Tayoubi, president of the HIP Institute and a co-leader of the study.
A Space the Size of a Cathedral Corridor, With No Known Purpose
The estimated dimensions of the Big Void are about eight meters high, two meters wide, and at least 40 meters long, located around 20 meters above the pyramid’s base. Its shape is reminiscent of the Grand Gallery, which measures 47 meters in length and 8.6 meters in height.
According to Kate Spence, an archaeologist from the University of Cambridge, the void’s positioning in relation to the upper chambers of the pyramid suggests the possibility of it serving as an internal construction ramp. This idea stems from the structural necessity of such a ramp to assist in placing the massive granite beams that reinforce the roof of the King’s Chamber.
Following construction, this ramp could have been left open or filled with debris. Salima Ikram, an Egyptologist at the American University in Cairo, indicated that the void’s location above the Grand Gallery might also provide insight into the construction methodology of that lower corridor.
Some scholars have put forth the idea that this space could potentially serve as a concealed burial chamber for the pharaoh Khufu, whose final resting place remains unknown. While his sarcophagus in the King’s Chamber was found empty, the mystery surrounding his burial site persists. Neither theory has been conclusively proven, and direct access to the Big Void has yet to occur.
A Second Structure and a Sealed Door
The Big Void isn’t the only new discovery from the ScanPyramids project. Researchers also detected a smaller corridor situated behind the chevron stonework on the pyramid’s northern face, located between 17 and 23 meters above the ground. In February 2023, an endoscope was used to explore this passage, and while initial images revealed no artifacts, it should be noted that a complete view of the interior hasn’t been achieved yet.
Recently, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass stated that a corridor approximately 30 meters long has been found deeper within the structure, explored by remote-controlled robots equipped with cameras. These robots reached a sealed stone door at the end of the passage, with Hawass suggesting that what is behind it could be revealed in 2026.
More Powerful Technology Is Now Targeting the Pyramid
A research team announced plans in 2022 to use muon detection equipment that is expected to be significantly more sensitive—roughly 100 times more so than previous instruments used on-site. This new approach aims to create the first comprehensive tomographic image of the pyramid from various angles simultaneously. In a separate study during the same year, Synthetic Aperture Radar Doppler Tomography indicated that the network of passages inside the pyramid might be more intricate than existing maps suggest.
The Great Pyramid, constructed under the direction of Pharaoh Khufu between approximately 2509 and 2483 BC and consisting of around 2.3 million limestone blocks, stands as the sole remaining wonder of the ancient world. Even after centuries of exploration, its internal configuration continues to be updated by advancements in modern imaging technology and particle physics.
A sealed stone door at the end of a newly discovered interior corridor, approached by robotic probes, is expected to be disclosed to the public in 2026.
