New Discovery in Egypt JUST TOTALLY BROKE Our Understanding of History

Most people know that pyramids were built as grand tombs for the pharaohs, designed to ensure they had a smooth journey to the afterlife. The Great Pyramid of Giza, for instance, was constructed for the pharaoh Khufu. But what most people don't know is that this whole pyramid building trend started right here, with the Step Pyramid of Djoser, about 4,700 years ago. This massive structure was built for Pharaoh Djoser, a ruler from Egypt's 3rd dynasty. It rises 7 layers high above the ground and stands about 200 feet tall. We think of it today as a phenomenal architectural project. But for ancient Egyptians, the Step Pyramid of Djoser turned out to be more like a massive experiment – a trial run, if you will – to perfect their building skills before they moved on to even more ambitious pyramids. Reaching new heights is super exciting, but the real mystery is what is going on below the ground. In this pyramid's underground labyrinth, there is a network of tunnels stretching about 3.5 miles long. And some researchers believe these tunnels might've been part of a sophisticated water system that could completely change what we think about pyramid construction. Let's talk about this massive complex located in Saqqara. Surrounding the pyramid, there's what's known as a dry moat – a continuous trench that is up to 164 feet wide and almost 2 miles long. It forms a sort of rectangular shape around the pyramid. This trench has an average depth of about 65 feet. Now, if you were to add up all the earth and rock they dug out to create this moat, it would be about 10 times the volume of the Step Pyramid itself. For the longest time, people just assumed this trench was nothing more than a huge quarry – a place where they dug up stone and clay to build the Step Pyramid. Makes sense, right? But when you take a closer look, it doesn't add up. The trench is too narrow and deep to be practical for mining, and its layout doesn't match anything we know about ancient Egyptian quarrying methods. Plus, some sections of the trench are actually covered with a rocky ceiling, which would have made it nearly impossible to use as a quarry. Another theory suggests that the dry moat had some kind of spiritual significance. Maybe it was a sacred place, where souls of nobles gathered to serve the late king in the afterlife. There are even niches in the walls that work as a hint at this spiritual function. But most researchers believe that this purpose likely developed much later, long after the complex was built for Djoser. So, what was the moat really designed for? In 2020, a researcher came up with a pretty intriguing idea. It is possible that this trench was actually designed to collect and manage water, especially after heavy rainfalls. Now, that makes sense when you consider the location. The moat sits in an area that could easily have been flooded by runoff water from nearby plains. This could also explain why the trench wasn't used for new graves until much later when the climate became drier and less prone to flooding. The story becomes even more intriguing, as this trench appears to be part of a larger, more complex hydraulic system within the Djoser complex. It is like the trench has several compartments, carefully carved out of the rock and connected by tunnels. These compartments likely served as a part of a water treatment system, where water would flow from one compartment to the next, getting cleaner as it moved along. Now, here is where things start to tie into the pyramid itself. The Djoser complex has a series of underground shafts, and some researchers think that water from the moat's deep trench might have been used to power a hydraulic lift system. And this giant water-powered elevator could have been used to raise the heavy stones needed to build the pyramid. It worked like a volcano, but instead of lava, water did the heavy lifting. Imagine a big deep hole in the ground at the center of the pyramid's site. Inside this hole, there was a huge wooden platform, kind of like a giant raft that could move up and down. When the workers wanted to lift a heavy stone, they would fill the hole with water. As the water rose, the wooden platform started to float up, carrying the stone with it, almost like a giant water-powered elevator. When the stone reached the right height, the workers slid it off the platform and onto the pyramid. The idea is that water from the deep trench, after being cleaned and filtered, would flow into these shafts. A massive float, possibly made of wood, would then rise as the water filled the shaft, lifting the stones up to where they were needed for construction. Once the stone was in place, they'd let the water out, lowering the platform back down to the bottom, ready to lift the next stone. This fancy hydraulic lift system could have been a game-changer, making the whole building process a lot faster and more efficient without using a lot of workforce. It is like the ancient Egyptians were already embracing the whole idea of work smarter, not harder. But, of course, not everyone is on board with this theory. Some experts argue that the area where the step pyramid of Djoser was built couldn't have held enough water from occasional rains to maintain such a fancy hydraulic system. The main theory suggests that, in the past, there might have been some kind of lake nearby that would have filled up after a period of rain. And this lake could have supplied water to the complex's hydraulic system. But there is no mention of such a lake in any ancient Egyptian writings. So, it might be more of a what-if situation than a reality. And then there's the issue of the hard work itself. Remember when I said this method could have allowed the ancient builders to raise stones with far less effort? Well, that might not be entirely true. According to some experts, just building this hydraulic device would have required a lot more heavy work than simply moving the stone blocks using good old-fashioned manpower. And let's not forget, the step pyramid of Djoser is like a baby pyramid compared to those that came later. The stones used for Djoser's pyramid weighed, on average, about 660 pounds each, which is nothing compared to the more than 2.5-ton blocks used later for the Pyramid of Cephran. If this cool water-lift theory gets completely ruled out, we still need to explain how this pyramid was built in the first place. To answer that, we need to rewind a bit and talk about the original plans. See, before Djoser's tomb became a pyramid, the idea was to construct a simple mastaba. This type of tomb was pretty common in earlier periods. A flat-roofed rectangular structure with sloping sides. But after the original mastaba was finished, they decided to expand it a bit by adding more layers on top. And then they added even more layers, until the construction reached 6 distinctive steps, each one smaller than the previous. And they probably did all this by raising those heavy stones using ramps, not a water-powered elevator. There is still so much we don't know about the step pyramid of Djoser. More research is definitely needed to fully understand how this system worked, or if it even existed at all. But the idea of using water to help build the pyramid adds a whole new layer to our understanding of ancient Egyptian engineering. It's a powerful reminder of just how clever and resourceful those builders were, using the natural landscape and the power of water to create one of the most iconic monuments in history. Beneath the sands of Luxor, scientists found something that was, perhaps, never meant to be found. Over a thousand decorated stone blocks that belonged to the ruined temple of a woman pharaoh. It got us thinking, why was this temple so brutally destroyed, and who was this woman? Her name is Hatshepsut, and she is now considered one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs, but for a long time, history almost forgot her. She ruled during the 18th dynasty, from around 1479 to 1458 BCE. She's remembered for her ambitious building projects, successful military campaigns, and flourishing trade expeditions. It turns out she was one out of four women to take the title of pharaoh in Egyptian history. The next woman would have to wait for 1,500 years to reign, and that woman we know as Cleopatra. The story of how Hatshepsut got to be a pharaoh is the most colorful part of this tale. As far as most dynastic rules go, it's usually men that are first in line for royal thrones. In Egypt, that was the same. That's why, when Pharaoh Thutmose I had a daughter as his firstborn, that was a big no-no as far as his succession line went. A few years later, Pharaoh Thutmose I passes away. The crown passed to Thutmose II, who ruled briefly, only to leave the throne to his infant son, Thutmose III. In this scenario, Hatshepsut was this pharaoh's stepmother. So what happened was that Hatshepsut served as advisor to her stepson, since he was too young to rule on his own. But after 7 years, she made an unprecedented move. She decided to seize power and declared herself pharaoh of Egypt. This was not a simple power grab. Hatshepsut understood that if she wanted to rule, she had to present herself as a legitimate king. In a bold move, she adopted the full royal regalia, including the false beard, traditionally worn by male pharaohs. She was often depicted in statues and hieroglyphs as a man, wearing the pharaoh's kilt and headdress. But this wasn't about disguising herself. Experts believe she never tried to hide her identity. Inscriptions on her statues often included feminine titles, like daughter of Rhi, or grammatical structures that combine male and female terms, such as His Majesty Herself. This showed that while she adopted traditional symbols of kings, she still acknowledged her true gender. But she needed to go even further. To legitimize her rule, she crafted an elaborate origin story. She claimed that the deity Amun himself had visited her mother in the form of her father, Thutmose I, and that she was his divine daughter. This was no small claim, since pharaohs were seen as deities on Earth. By aligning herself with Amun, she strengthened her right to the throne. In temple carvings, she depicted this divine birth with Amun, presenting her as his rightful heir. These narratives weren't just mythology. They were tools, ensuring her position remained unchallenged. Hatshepsut also took a new name, Ma'at Khari, which translates roughly to Truth is the Soul of the Sun God. The word Ma'at was central to Egyptian beliefs. It represented order, justice, and divine balance. Pharaohs were expected to uphold Ma'at to ensure Egypt's stability. By calling herself Ma'at Khari, Hatshepsut was likely reinforcing that she was a legitimate and rightful ruler. Her reign was truly great. She led Egypt into an era of peace and prosperity, launching massive building projects and restoring temples across the kingdom. Her most famous achievement was the construction of her temple, Adir el Bahari, a pretty impressive architectural masterpiece carved into the cliffs of Luxor. Hatshepsut initiated one of the most ambitious construction projects in ancient Egyptian history, commissioning monuments, temples, and obelisks to immortalize her reign. It's argued that she continued with the construction of the Avenue of the Sphinxes, a grand road lined with statues leading to the Karnak Temple. For many, her shining architectural achievement was the towering obelisks she had carved from single pieces of granite. One of these, weighing over 320 tons, still stands today. Now beyond building, she expanded Egypt's influence through trade. She sent an expedition to the mysterious land of Punt, believed to be modern-day Somalia or Eritrea, bringing back riches like gold, ivory, and exotic animals. Her fleet of ships sailing the Red Sea marked the first recorded trade mission of its kind, establishing economic ties that would benefit Egypt for generations. Yet, for all of her success, something strange happened after Hatshepsut passed away. Her successor, aka her stepson Thutmose III, who had been overshadowed by her rule, took a drastic step. He ordered her name to be erased from history. Her statues were defaced, her inscriptions chiseled away, and her achievements credited to other rulers. It was as if she had never existed. Some believe Thutmose III wanted to reclaim his rightful place as pharaoh, while others suggest that later rulers, uncomfortable with the idea of a female pharaoh, sought to restore traditional male dominance. The story gets even more tragic. The power struggle between stepmother and stepson continues. Since, even after her passing away, Thutmose III built his own temple right next to Hatshepsut's at the Valley of the Kings. But he built his temple with one deliberate modification. His monument was built 11 feet higher than hers. Mind you that this was no accident. It was a symbolic statement. He wanted to overshadow her legacy. But history had other plans. Hatshepsut's legacy started to be rediscovered in the 19th century. And it was only through careful archaeological investigation that her was properly recognized. Today, Hatshepsut is remembered as one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs. Her reign, once erased, has been reconstructed through constant archaeological discoveries, proving that her power and influence could not be so easily forgotten. Her resting place had been hidden in plain sight, her body removed from its original chamber in an effort to erase her from history. This final piece of evidence cemented her legacy, proving that even attempts to erase a pharaoh could not really do it. Hatshepsut's grand temple, Jezer Jezeru, was a stunning architectural feat, designed to immortalize her reign and solidify her divine connection to Amun. But after her death, her successor, Thutmose III, launched that calculated effort to erase her legacy, and parts of her temple were dismantled. Historians still debate why. Was it a dynastic power move, an attempt to restore traditional male rule, or a bid to strengthen Thutmose III's claim to the throne? Maybe he was just a jerk. Whatever the reason, the destruction wasn't immediate. It happened decades after her death, suggesting it might not have been a personal revenge but a broader political strategy. Yet despite these efforts, her temple endures, and so does her story, a defiant echo of Egypt's first great female pharaoh. Let's travel through space and time to another place. Dahshur, Egypt, is known to be home to several resting places of people from Ancient Egypt. In the year 2017, scientists uncovered a long-lost pyramid. They quickly called the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities because they suspected it was going to be a big deal. Unlike most pyramids that were found in the area, this one was completely sealed. Lifting the capstone was a delicate process. When they finally managed to open the pyramid, they expected to find an undisturbed chamber. Instead, it was chaos. The place had been looted, and the personal items of the person that had passed away were scattered all over. But in the middle of the wreckage, they found a chest. Using the latest scanning technology, they managed to read the damaged hieroglyphs on its surface. What they found was unbelievable. The name inscribed there was as clear as day – Princess Hatshepsut. The discovery made in 2017 also opened up a lot of questions. After further analysis, scientists discovered the remains belonged to another Hatshepsut. It belonged to a princess that lived during Egypt's 13th dynasty. The fact that a resting place had been looted before it was sealed made scientists wonder. Were these ancient people trying to hide something about this public figure? And why is there almost no record about her in ancient Egyptian history? Thousands of years ago, way before cranes, engines, or electricity, the ancient Egyptians pulled off one of the greatest architectural feats ever – the pyramids. The massive stone blocks, some weighing as much as a Range Rover, sitting at a height of over 200 feet, seemed so unreal that many even believed ETs helped build them. But new research shows the secret was actually right here on Earth. The Egyptians probably used a giant ancient water elevator to move those heavy stones for their very first pyramid, the Step Pyramid of Djoser, around 4,700 years ago. Now, the first question that comes to mind is, where did they find such huge amounts of water to run this construction in the middle of the desert? Some studies say that the Sahara Desert had more regular rainfall thousands of years ago than it does today. So, the landscape resembled a savanna, not a desert. So it was possible there was enough natural water to support the hydraulic lift. Researchers found deep vertical shafts inside the first stone pyramid. They used a computer model that had info about the pyramid's remaining inside parts and the underground tunnels at the site. The team also used high-resolution satellite pictures of the area to include the amount of rainfall from the past in their research. It looks like the Egyptians would place a heavy stone block on top of a floating wooden platform, kind of like a raft, then slowly fill the shaft with water. And the rising water would lift the platform and the stone upwards, sort of like an ancient elevator in action. This cool process is called hydraulic lifting, and it's very similar to how some modern machinery works. But when the Egyptians used it, I mean, if they ever did, they would have had to do it with the most basic tools and a really advanced understanding of how water behaves. They would have to carefully control the amount of water added to each shaft to raise the stone blocks gradually and stop at the desired level to move the stones into place. The scientists now want to find out if it was the first major system of this kind, or if someone had used it before the Egyptians. Now, not all archaeologists fully agree with this idea. Some point out there is no direct evidence, like writings or diagrams from that time, that would prove the Egyptians actually used a hydraulic lift system, whether or not they actually used this exact method. One thing is clear, the people who built the Step Pyramid were geniuses in their own right. They figured out how to move massive stones all the way to the top of the pyramid with incredible precision, and used techniques that still impress scientists today. West of the pyramid, archaeologists found some evidence of a human-made lake or reservoir. They believe the Egyptians may have created this temporary lake and used channels or canals to move the water toward the pyramid. The pyramid itself may have been surrounded by a moat that helped direct water into these vertical shafts. There's even an enormous stone structure nearby, which could have acted like a dam. It stored and filtered water in the amounts they needed. In fact, scientists have discovered that 31 pyramids are likely to have been built along a long-lost ancient branch of the River Nile. It is now hidden under desert and farmland. For many years, archaeologists have thought that ancient Egyptians must have used a nearby waterway to transport materials, equipment, people, and whatever else they needed to build the pyramids on the river. But up until recently, they weren't certain of the location, shape, size, or proximity of this waterway to the site of the pyramids. They used radar satellite imagery, historical maps, geophysical surveys, and sediment coring to map the river branch. The scientists believe that a huge drought and sandstorms buried it thousands of years ago. They managed to go below the surface of the sand and get images of some hidden features, thanks to radar technology. The team found hidden rivers and ancient structures running at the foothills of where most of the ancient Egyptian pyramids lie. The discovery of this extinct river branch could explain why there are so many pyramids between Gaza and Lisht in what is now an inhospitable area of the Saharan desert. And if it wasn't cool enough, the area seems to have had a kind of water filtration system. Looks like they built it using a series of stone compartments that look surprisingly similar to modern water treatment plants. So, the Egyptians probably weren't just filling up the shafts with any water. They may have been managing and purifying it. They wanted to make sure it was clean and flowing in the right amounts, not to damage the pyramid or flood the area. Alright, water transportation is a complex issue. But even the most basic things, like how many sides the Great Pyramid of Giza has, can still surprise us. It's not four, as you might logically conclude. It's not even five or three, but eight. In 1926, a British pilot flew over the pyramid and took photos from above, and only then officially confirmed it. From that high-up view, he noticed that each of the pyramid's four faces is slightly indented down the middle, from top to bottom. These shallow inward dips make each face split into two halves, turning the pyramid into something more like an octagon. That indentation is so subtle, you'd never see it standing next to the pyramid. But from the air, it becomes obvious. This odd shape may have actually helped keep the pyramid stable for over 4,500 years. The special inward-sloping design, plus a super-strong base, could have helped it survive all kinds of natural disasters, like earthquakes, heavy rains, and constant pressure from its own massive weight. The pyramid has likely faced over 500 severe rainstorms in its lifetime. And thanks to its design, the pyramid's angled stone layers may have actually gotten stronger over time, kind of like how a screw tightens when you turn it. If the pyramid had been built with totally flat and level stone layers, it might have started to fall apart instead. The latest news from the pyramids is that there could be a massive ancient city hidden deep beneath them. Two scientists announced that they used a new method to read data from a technology called Synthetic Aperture Radar, SAR. It's kind of like X-ray vision for the ground, and satellites normally use it to look beneath Earth's surface. So they say that with this cool tech, they managed to spot giant structures over a mile underground, directly beneath the Pyramid of Khafre at Giza. The scientists found eight deep shafts surrounded by spiral paths, all leading to two enormous cube-shaped chambers, each one almost 300 feet wide. There are five more structures above the shafts, all connected by tunnels. All this might be part of a prehistoric underground city or even an ancient power station. The idea isn't new. A long time ago, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus already talked about hidden chambers under the pyramids. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, similar rumors popped up again. Then, in the 20th century, an American psychic claimed there was a hall of records buried under Giza. This new case is different because the people who announced it have real scientific backgrounds, hold doctorates, and claim to have invented a new type of scanning method. But still, many experts are skeptical about this finding. No one has officially proved or tested this new technology that they rely on. They base their reconstructions on imaginative guesses and not hard evidence. And most importantly, the claims don't fit with what archaeologists already know about the area from actual excavations. So, until there's solid, peer-reviewed evidence, the idea of a lost city under the pyramids will remain just an idea. Archaeologists were looking for the long-lost tomb of Cleopatra when they found something that seemed too good to be real. Roughly 43 feet underground beneath a ruined Egyptian temple, there was a perfectly straight tunnel carved through solid sandstone. The tunnel is over 4,200 feet long, and so precise that experts called it a geometric miracle. The tunnel sits beneath an ancient city west of Alexandria, near Egypt's Mediterranean coast. The team that found it carefully peeled back layers of stone and debris until they hit this passage, about 6.5 feet tall, cut cleanly into bedrock. There were no collapse marks or wandering curves, just precision. If you've ever tried to drill a straight hole into a wall at home and failed within seconds, imagine doing this underground for nearly a mile. Ancient builders had no GPS, no lasers, no modern surveying tools, yet this tunnel stays remarkably level over its entire length. That means they understood gradients, angles, and distance in a way that goes far beyond stack stones and hope. Engineers today rely on machines to maintain that kind of accuracy underground. These people relied on knowledge, repetition, and patience. Parts of the tunnel now sit underwater or collapsed, probably after several earthquakes that struck the region centuries ago. Some experts think the tunnel may have once connected the temple to water sources or ritual areas closer to the sea. Archaeologists noticed that the Egyptian tunnel is an exact replica of the Eupalinos Tunnel in Greece. It's believed to be one of the most important engineering achievements of antiquity, which only makes the Egyptian tunnel more special. Underground passages in ancient Greece linked temples to sacred springs. Back in ancient times, people moved through space in specific ways, underground and above, to reenact myths and journeys of gods. A tunnel like this could represent a path to the underworld, rebirth, or divine transition. Nobody would invest this much effort in construction just for decoration. Plus, in earlier digs at the site, archaeologists pulled up all kinds of artifacts, including coins with the names and faces of Cleopatra VII and Alexander the Great. They also found figurines, statues of deities, a mummy with a gold tongue, and even an entire cemetery packed with Greco-Roman style mummies. The perfect geometric tunnel isn't an isolated flex. Not far away, underwater archaeologists off the coast of Alexandria uncovered something that sounds like it belongs in a royal travel documentary, a 2,000-year-old pleasure boat that once glided along the Nile. And this wasn't just another fishing vessel or cargo barge. It likely stretched over 115 feet long and 23 feet wide, and had a plus around 20 rowers, which turned the river into a moving palace. This isn't speculation pulled out of thin air. An ancient Greek geographer named Strabo wrote about these exact boats around the 1st century BCE. He described lavish vessels used by royalty during festivals and ceremonial outings in Alexandria. For years, historians treated that as a poetic exaggeration. Then this wreck surfaced, and suddenly Strabo sounded less like a storyteller and more like a witness. Even ancient art backs it up. The Palestrina mosaic from Italy shows richly decorated boats floating down the Nile. They match both the texts and the physical evidence almost perfectly. Inside the wreck, archaeologists found something small but incredibly human. Graffiti scratched into the wood in Greek, just writing left behind by someone who stood on that deck 2,000 years ago. Researchers haven't fully decoded the text yet, but its existence alone matters. It tells us this wasn't just a floating symbol of power. People lived on it. It was sort of like a modern, luxurious yacht, and the Nile was like a highway. All types of vessels with passengers were moving back and forth, visiting friends, carrying their goods for trade, doing business, and, of course, going on pleasure cruises. The location of the pleasure boat makes the story even better. The boat sat near the Temple of Isis on Antirhodos, an island that once hosted royal and religious buildings before earthquakes and rising seas erased it from the surface. That temple collapsed around 50 CE, and researchers believe the boat may have sunk during the same disaster. Another recent find that has to do with life on the Nile is the lower part of the massive worship complex about 10 miles southwest of Cairo. It connects directly to an upper temple dedicated to Ra, the Egyptian deity of the sun. The newly excavated part is a 4,500-year-old valley temple. The upper temple sits on higher ground, and archaeologists excavated it years ago. The valley temple is closer to the Nile, and it's connected to the upper part by a causeway. A German Egyptologist actually started excavating part of the temple back in 1901, but the groundwater sat much higher then, and he had to stop. Now the groundwater level is lower, and a modern team has managed to excavate about half of the valley temple since 2024. Once they got in, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a columned entrance portico. Then they found blocks carved with a calendar of religious events, almost like an ancient public schedule. The text includes feasts for Sokar, a falcon-headed deity linked to Memphis, which was a major capital during the Old Kingdom, plus the festival of Min, a fertility deity, and even the procession of Ra. The calendar blocks all showed up around the entrance portico area, which most definitely means that the outside facade of the temple displayed this long feast calendar publicly. That's why archaeologists think this might be one of the earliest examples of a true public calendar ever found, a literal event list for an entire community built into the architecture. On top of that, the team found dozens of decorated blocks covered in inscriptions that named a pharaoh who ruled around 2420-2389 BCE and had the temple built. This temple shows how people moved through ancient Egypt. Because the upper temple handled the main worship, but the valley temple made the whole place accessible. It acted like the landing area for boats coming in, either directly from the Nile, or more likely from one of its side channels. So instead of hiking across desert terrain, visitors could arrive by water, step onto the temple's landing stage, enter through the valley temple, then head up the causeway ramp toward the upper temple on the hill. After about a century of use, researchers found that the valley temple had been repurposed into a residential area. And the best part is what they found from that era, two wooden pieces used for playing Sennet, an ancient board game. Sennet shows up at other Egyptian sites too, including King Tutankhamen's tomb, but nobody fully agrees on the rules today. Some discoveries in Egypt create new mysteries instead of solving the old ones. Earlier in 2025, archaeologists announced the discovery of the first pharaoh's burial found in or near the Valley of Kings since King Tut's tomb in 1922. The newly found tomb of Tutmos II flooded almost immediately after burial. Ancient officials rushed in, removed the mummy and most of the grave goods, and hid them somewhere else. The weirdest part is that an alabaster ointment jar inside the tomb links the burial directly to Hashapsut, Tutmos II's wife and half-sister. The inscription basically says, she made this monument for him, which proves she arranged his burial. But it still doesn't explain why she placed him here and later chose the Valley of the Kings for herself. Now archaeologists are studying a huge mound of rubble near the tomb, about 75 feet tall, and suspect it was built to hide something important. If a second tomb sits underneath, it could be complete and undisturbed. So, the deeper the archaeologists dig, the more ancient Egypt stops feeling like a gone civilization and starts feeling like a paused one. Looks like it didn't just survive time, it outsmarted it, and we're only just beginning to catch up! Wow, scientists have found a lost city beneath Egypt's pyramids. And it's incredibly large, bigger than the biggest target you can imagine. Underground chambers, passageways, and vertical structures, scientists have no idea what purposes they serve. But let's start from the very beginning. Italian and Scottish scientists studying the Pyramid of Khafre discovered something that looked like secret tunnels under three pyramids. This find might change what we know about ancient Egypt. The expedition, called the Khafre Project, was led by Corundo Molunga from Pisa, Italy, and Filippo Biondi from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. Their mission was to focus on exploring Khafre's pyramid, the second-largest on the Giza Plateau. Scientists uncovered a massive structure beneath the Pyramid of Khafre. Could it be an ancient Egyptian underground city? The experts analyzed the data they had and came to the conclusion that eight large vertical structures could be hiding beneath, possibly wells or shafts. They extend a staggering 6,500 feet across. Imagine placing two and a half Burj Khalifas on the ground, one after another, and you get the sheer size of this find. These shafts also plunge nearly 2,000 feet underground. Some of the deepest underground stations in the world are located at a mere 380 feet underground or so. These cylindrical shafts are surrounded by spiral paths. Picture some old Gothic castle. They're connected to two giant weirdly-shaped chambers. Are those cubes? Or possibly bowls? Each of these chambers is likely more than 260 feet across. Even though we know about the structures now, no one has figured out their original purpose yet. Want to hear something even more shocking? Okay then. The team is almost sure that similar access points can be found under all three pyramids. In other words, all of them might be linked by a hidden system of underground tunnels, chambers, and passages. Even deeper, about 4,000 feet under the surface, there might be more unknown structures. And doesn't it add to the mystery? But the coolest news is that, according to some team members, these hidden structures near Giza pyramids could align with the legendary Halls of Amenti. In ancient Egyptian mythology, it's a place where people are believed to arrive when they're close to the end of their days. There, they are said to take a three-day-long trial, facing their biggest fears. Now, how did scientists even discover these hidden spaces? To uncover them, researchers used two satellites positioned 420 miles above Earth. They sent radar signals to Giza Plateau, and these signals generated detailed images, which were later compiled into a 3D model of the underground layout, including the newly detected shafts. Then, using Synthetic Aperture Radar, or SAR technology, which is a type of radar that can penetrate through stone, the team also spotted five small room-like structures hidden deep within the pyramid. One of these chambers contained a sarcophagus, which was once thought to be the tomb of Pharaoh Khafre. But now, scientists believe this was a mistake. The true burial site is likely to be elsewhere. In any case, these five hidden rooms were completely unknown before the scans. They seem to be arranged in the center of the pyramid and are linked to underground pathways leading somewhere below the structure. There's an opinion that these tunnels could lead to more hidden chambers and wells. Some of them might be around 4,500 years old. Wow, what if they help us solve ancient civilization mysteries? Preliminary data suggests that all this underground space can be much more than a few empty chambers. There might be many more hidden structures near the Giza Pyramids. How come? Well, the thing is, the structure appears to include hollowed-out sections with spiral pathways leading even deeper underground. Refining the images hinting at this could reveal an extensive subterranean network. It might be a whole city hidden under the surface. Despite the excitement surrounding these findings, there are also a lot of people who don't believe in the existence of the underground city. They're skeptical about the archaeological discovery in Egypt due to the lack of peer-reviewed verification. That's why several archaeologists and radar experts have challenged the validity of the claims. They've explained that the technology used to make the discovery may not be advanced enough to produce such detailed underground imagery. According to them, the five smaller chambers found near the surface could be natural formations since the area had had sacred significance long before the construction of the pyramids. Some experts have even dismissed the use of radar methods in this context altogether. They call these methods scientifically unproven and question their accuracy. The discovery has also reignited discussions about ancient Egyptian myths and the possibility of hidden texts lying somewhere beneath the Giza pyramids. The layout of the newly detected underground chambers shares similarities with mythological accounts of the Hall of Records, a rumored chamber that could preserve early Egyptian wisdom. If confirmed, these findings could significantly reshape the understanding of Egypt's sacred topography. Plus, this lost city beneath Egypt's pyramid could become physical evidence of previously unknown underground structures. That's why the Khafre Project is super eager to begin excavating to confirm their findings, but getting approval from Egyptian authorities is a challenging process. The discoveries still need to undergo peer-review before they are accepted by the academic community. By the way, this recent archaeological discovery in Egypt comes on the heels of another discovery involving a weird structure beneath the Royal Giza Cemetery, which researchers believe is unnatural in origin. Archaeologists used remote sensing techniques and uncovered a mysterious L-shaped structure underground in the Western Cemetery of Giza. This area is known to house burials of royal family members and high-ranking officials. Many of the tombs in the cemetery have above-ground mastabas, rectangular stone or mud-brick structures with flat roofs. But there is an area in the center of the cemetery where there are no above-ground structures. To investigate this unexplored region, the team used electrical resistive tomography and ground-penetrating radar. ERT works by sending electrical currents into the ground and measuring the resistance to detect remains. As for GPR, it sends radar into the ground and maps the structures based on the radar's return. The team found an anomaly about 6.5 feet beneath the surface. It appeared to be an L-shaped structure measuring at least 33 feet in length. The readings suggested that the structure had been backfilled with sand after its construction. This made the team hypothesize that it could be a mix of sand and gravel, or possibly an air void. This anomaly was classified as a highly resistive structure, which meant it didn't occur naturally. Motoyuki Sato, the study's lead author and professor at Tohoku University in Japan, claims that the structure is not a natural formation due to its sharp shape. Another weird thing about ancient Egyptian pyramids is that historians have long believed that they were built primarily for royals and high-status individuals, who had the wealth and power to create such massive structures. However, new research from the archaeological side of Tombos in modern-day Sudan challenges this assumption. The thing is, Tombos' pyramid may have served as burial sites for low-status workers as well as elites. The hard-working members of ancient communities may have found their last resting place in some of the most visible monuments, including the pyramids. Located along the Nile River in the ancient region of Nubia, Tombos became part of Egypt after its conquest of the area around 1400 BCE. That's when Egypt established the site to strengthen its colonial control. Workers at Tombos built pyramids, but those were much more modest than the famous Pyramids of Giza. The research team re-analyzed 110 human skeletons from Tombos, originally studied in 2012. In particular, they examined the entheses, the areas where tendons and ligaments attach to bones. Such an analysis can give us insights into the amount of physical labor a person performed. When someone does hard labor, their bones often develop distinct crests and ridges at these attachment points due to the stress on the tendons and ligaments. And while some skeletons showed little change in their entheses, suggesting they belonged to individuals from the upper classes, others showed more serious changes. It means they belonged to lower-class workers. This finding can totally challenge our earlier understanding of pyramid burials, especially the idea that only elites were buried in the pyramids because the pyramids themselves were designed for the elite. This recent research may prove that lower-class workers may have found their final resting place in these monumental structures too. The Great Pyramid was created as the final resting place of ancient Egyptian monarch Khufu. According to legend, French leader Napoleon entered the Great Pyramid and came back out looking shaken and super pale. He never revealed what he saw inside, but whatever it was is said to have affected him for the rest of his life. When Napoleon entered the pyramid, he would have walked through a super tight and ascending passageway. He'd then go through another passageway known as the Great Chamber. This corridor would have been much taller than the previous one and would have cobbles too. He'd then reach the King's Chamber, the centerpiece of the Great Pyramid which was lined with huge blocks of granite. But it wouldn't have looked as grand as we might imagine. There are no hieroglyphics decorating its walls as Egyptians only began decorating the burial chambers of pyramids much later on. The pharaoh's tombs deep inside the pyramid would have also been filled with treasures from chunks of gold to the world's most expensive jewelry. But this would have all been looted a long time ago. The only thing that probably would have been left in there would have been a huge sarcophagus which would have once contained the king's mummy. He'd also have to walk past the Queen's Chamber. This room most likely didn't hold any queens though as pyramids were usually only built for one person. There are mysterious tunnels leading from here. To this day no one is really sure what they're there for. And that's not the only mysterious and creepy thing Napoleon may have encountered as stories of pharaohs leaving ancient curses on pyramids go way back. Many pyramids had warnings written on the outside telling of horrifying things that would happen to those who entered and disturbed the peace. We might not know what exactly Napoleon found in the Great Pyramid that scared him so much but we know for sure what was found in Tutankhamen's tomb. Tutankhamen was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who was only eight or nine years old when he took to the throne. He became a cultural phenomenon when his tomb was discovered almost completely intact in 1922. His pyramid sits in the Valley of Kings in Thebes, modern Luxor, which is in Egypt. Unlike the Great Pyramid, Tutankhamen's tomb was covered in beautiful wall decorations. The walls told the story of how he would travel to the afterlife through the underworld. Egyptians believed all people would have to take this journey so they would fill their tombs with objects and paintings to help them get there. There'd also be spells painted on the walls. They believed this would help people pass over to the next realm. The journey would be pretty long and for that reason the ancient Egyptians would also fill the pyramids with food. Tutankhamen's pyramid was filled with eight fruit baskets. They even found something called gingerbread fruit in there. The rooms were jam-packed with furniture, statues, clothes, and staffs, amongst a whole bunch of other things. You'd likely find a lot of clothes and expensive jewelry in the pyramids as well. The ancient Egyptians wanted their ancestors to travel in style to the afterlife. They put Tutankhamen in his final resting place with over 50 pieces of clothing, all of the highest quality. There were tunics, scarves, gloves, and headdresses, and a ton of jewelry, bracelets, pennants, necklaces, rings, and scarabs for protection were all found inside. Each of them was made of gold or precious stones. They were also fans made of ostrich feathers to keep the old pharaoh cool in the hot Egyptian sun. But the temperature inside the pyramids never actually went above 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The ancient Egyptians developed a super cool air conditioning system that we don't fully understand even today. Tutankhamen's pyramid also contained 130 walking sticks made from ebony, ivory, silver, and gold to help him on his journey. There were three chariots hidden away in case he got tired of all the walking. They also put 11 boat paddles inside, but there was no sign of any boat. The pyramids would be littered with the pharaoh's favorite scents and perfumes. During the excavation of Tutankhamen's pyramid, it quickly became clear that it had been robbed during ancient times. There was damage to doors and traces of oils left in empty jars. It looks like someone raided the pyramid for gold and the scents, perfumes, and oils that had been left for King Tut. There was still a bit of perfume, which was made from coconut oil and frankincense, left in one bottle. It seems like Pharaoh Tutankhamen loved board games. There was an ivory traveling set of Senet in his pyramid. Although we don't know for sure exactly how to play it, we have figured out it was sort of an ancient Egyptian version of backgammon. It looks like it was a two-player game where the goal was to knock your opponent off the board. Not really sure who Tutankhamen's mummy was supposed to play with though. The ancient Egyptians had some rituals that may seem pretty strange to us. For example, they used to shave their eyebrows off if they ever lost a cat. So it's not too surprising they put some really weird things inside pyramids. Archaeologists discovered a collection of mummified cats and scarab beetles in pyramids that date back more than 4,000 years. They were found in the pyramids of Saqqara, which is south of Cairo. They also found a bunch of makeup kits and mirrors inside. Makeup was worn proudly by both men and women in ancient Egyptian times. Eyeliner was the most popular cosmetic. The Rosetta Stone was one of the best discoveries ever made in pyramids. It was found by our man Napoleon Bonaparte and his team. It's a black granite rock that dates back to 196 BCE. It's transcribed in Greek, demotic, and hieroglyphic. When it was translated in 1822, we got the key to understanding ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics for the very first time. The discovery of Queen Hatshepsut's mummy in 1903 changed our understanding of the Egyptians forever. After she had passed away, her successor, Sadmusi III, removed most of the evidence of her so we basically knew nothing about Egypt's first great female leader. She's now gone on to become one of the few and most famous female pharaohs of Egypt. Pharaoh Khufu even had a fully-fledged boat in his pyramid. Archaeologists uncovered more than 1,200 pieces of a giant boat near the Great Pyramid at Giza. They reassembled the boat, and it's a whopping 144 feet long. It's most likely a solar boat, which was designed to carry the resurrected king with the deity Ra. Fun fact, the Pyramid of Giza is the last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The other six are the Hanging Gardens, the Colossus, the Temple of Artemis, the Mausoleum, the Lighthouse, and the Statue of Zeus. This pyramid was also the world's tallest man-made structure for 3,800 years, and it's the biggest pyramid in Egypt. It took a staggering 2.3 million blocks of limestone, and some weighed as much as 80 tons. It took an incredible 100,000 laborers and a whopping 23 years to build. Its original height was a mega 480 feet. In 2017, archaeologists discovered something weird about Egypt's Great Pyramid. There's a hidden void that's at least 100 feet long, and no one really knows why it's there or what's actually inside it. The weird void is the first inner structure discovered within the 4,500-year-old pyramid since the 1800s. Scientists used cosmic rays to detect the massive hole, but are still no closer today to finding out what's inside. The ancient Egyptians took a lot of care building the pyramids, and everything was strategically placed and structurally sound. So it's super unlikely that this hole is due to blocks falling over time. Loads of pyramids also contain small model figurines called ushabti. These represented attendants. They believed they would come to life to serve the pharaohs in the afterlife. But it's amazing that all this stuff actually fit inside. There isn't actually a huge amount of space inside the structures. It's mostly just rock.