Researchers have discovered a new L-shaped structure using ground-penetrating technology in an ancient Egyptian cemetery in Giza. The finding was published in the journal Archaeological Prospection.
The team of researchers from Higashi Nippon International University, Tohoku University, and Egypt’s National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics scanned an area below the sand’s surface in an empty space at Giza’s Western Cemetery located near the Great Pyramid of Khufu.
The Western Cemetery is an important burial place of members of the royal family and high-ranking officers. It is densely populated with tombs known as mastabas, which are rectangular funerary chapels that lead to underground burial chambers. However, there is a blank space in the center of the cemetery where no aboveground structures exist, and noteworthy excavations have not been conducted.
Burial Ground
Researchers consider the Western Cemetery a significant burial ground. It is known to have been the resting place of members of the royal family and high-ranking officers. The cemetery is full of mastabas, a type of tomb with rectangular funerary chapels that lead to underground burial chambers. However, there is a blank space in the center of the cemetery that has no aboveground structures, and no noteworthy excavations have been conducted on it.
Between 2021 and 2023, a team conducted a geophysical survey using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to detect what lies beneath the surface. The survey revealed anomalies that could either be vertical walls of limestone or shafts leading to a tomb structure.
The team then conducted another series of surveys using a different type of ground-penetrating radar to determine the shape of the large anomaly. The results indicate that the structure is L-shaped, approximately 33 by 49 feet, and is situated 6.5 feet below the ground.
The purpose of the structure is still unknown, although it could have served as a tomb entrance or a construction site that was later backfilled with sand. It appears to be connected to another structure measuring 33 by 33 feet, which is up to 33 feet beneath the ground. However, without further excavation, its function remains unclear.
