The corridor was «protecting or reducing pressure on something below it,» said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. He added that it could be or something else, but that it would be resolved «very soon.»

The pyramid, also known as the Khufu Pyramid, was built on the Giza plateau outside Cairo by Pharaoh Khufu, a 4th Dynasty pharaoh who reigned from 2509 to 2483 BC.

«Today’s discovery tells us that there is something important to be discovered soon under that tunnel, which could be the real Khufu burial chamber,» Hawass said.

But parts of the 4,500-year-old pyramid’s history and structure have remained shrouded in mystery.

The latest discovery is part of the international «ScanPyramids» project launched in October 2015 by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, which seeks to peer inside the massive structures without using invasive drilling methods.

Instead, the scientists used “Non-invasive and non-destructive topographic techniques” called muon radiographydeveloped in Japan by Nagoya University and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization.

Among several thermal anomalies discovered in November 2015, significant anomalies were detected on next year on the north face of the Great Pyramid, where four inverted V-shaped chevrons were seen protruding from the descending corridor.

A corridor in the Cheops pyramid that could lead to the funeral home, unveiled at a press conference in Giza on Thursday.Egyptian Ministry of Tourism/EPA via Shutterstock

The technique tracks cosmic ray muon particles that bombard Earth at close to the speed of light and penetrate solid objects more effectively than X-rays, allowing scientists to accurately visualize the presence of unknown structures. inside.

In 2017, scientists using the same technique uncovered what they said was the first major internal structure found in the pyramid since the 19th century, when they found a «void» or «cavity» called the Great Gallery, one of a series of passageways. and cameras

In addition to the Grand Gallery, archaeologists previously found the king’s chamber, roughly in the center of the pyramid, and a smaller queen’s chamber nearby.

Charlene Gubash, Reuters and molly huntress contributed.