31/08/2025
Podcast notes: 36,400 BCE, The Secret of the Gods, with Armando Mei.
I wanted to wait a few more days after Dr. Zahi Hawass's announcement of the "non-discovery," hoping for more details to emerge. A vain hope... of course. In January 2019, at an event at the Department of Engineering at the Monte Sant'Angelo University in Naples, I met Dr. Hany Helal, a professor at Cairo University, one of the founders of the ScanPyramid project and former Minister of Education and Scientific Research, with whom I discussed issues related to GP2 (Khephren's Pyramid). On that occasion, he revealed the existence of the shaft whose discovery is announced today. The only news, therefore, is its exploration—albeit with microcameras—and not its discovery. In any case, its structure is extremely interesting. Rough in shape and finish, with notably large sandstone blocks (at first glance, it doesn't look like much). granite), placed on sloping roofs. The architectural style recalls the "Burial Chamber of Khafre", the "Queen's Chamber" and the sloping roof of the Djed. Obviously, the dimensions of the rooms are different, but the architectural idea is very similar. Equally interesting is the floor of the shaft, which brings to mind that of the Underground Chamber in GP1. Here too, the state of the floor is rough, unworked, almost as if to underline that the room is "conceptually" secondary to the main rooms. At the end of the corridor, a block has been placed, horizontally, the function of which is incomprehensible (at the moment) and beyond which, nothing can be seen. In the sense that, beyond the mysterious horizontal block, there could be something "of interest". Frankly, Franck Monnier's idea that the corridor had a "drainage function" seems bizarre. Considering that the monument extends over 220 meters, the 9-meter corridor—located at the building's exit, moreover—serves virtually no drainage function. If similar spaces existed along the entire perimeter, Monnier's theory might even make sense, but in this case it is difficult to agree with. At this point, it would be important to find a way to gain access, especially to verify what lies beyond the horizontal block. Let's not forget that there are unknown spaces located adjacent to the North Shaft of the Queen's Chamber—identified in 2002 during the Pyramid Rover exploration—that still await rediscovery.
