Egyptologists clash over ‘underground city' beneath pyramids
Researchers from Italy say they have uncovered giant vertical shafts wrapped in 'spiral staircases' under the Khafre pyramid.
They said on Sunday that they found a limestone platform with two chambers and channels that resemble pipelines for a water system more than 2,100 feet below the pyramid, with underground pathways leading even deeper into the earth.
But the claims – which have not been published or independently peer-reviewed – were labelled 'false' and 'exaggerated' by fellow Egyptologists.
Prof Corrado Malanga and his team from the University of Pisa used radar pulses to create high-resolution images deep into the ground, similar to how sonar radar maps the ocean.
In a statement, he said: 'When we magnify the images [in the future], we will reveal that beneath it lies what can only be described as a true underground city.'
The scientists have also said there is 'an entire hidden world of many structures'' and that 'the Pyramid of Khafre might conceal undiscovered secrets, notably the fabled Hall of Records'.
The Hall of Records, a concept popularised in ancient Egyptian lore, is believed to be an ancient library beneath the Great Pyramid or the Sphinx, with vast amounts of information about the ancient civilisation.
Prof Lawrence Conyers, a radar expert at the University of Denver who focuses on archaeology, told the Daily Mail it was not possible for the technology to penetrate that deeply into the ground.
He said the idea that it proves an underground city existed is 'a huge exaggeration'.
But he said it was conceivable small structures, such as shafts and chambers, may be present from before the pyramids were built.
He highlighted how 'the Mayans and other peoples in ancient Mesoamerica often built pyramids on top of the entrances to caves or caverns that had ceremonial significance to them'.
The work by Prof Malanga and fellow researchers Filippo Biondi and Armando Mei was previously discussed during a briefing in Italy last week.
The project's spokesman, Nicole Ciccolo, shared a video on Saturday of the trio discussing the findings that are yet to be published in a scientific journal.
The team focused on the Khafre pyramid, which, along with Khufu and Menkaure pyramids, make up the three in the Giza complex.
The pyramids are thought to have been built some 4,500 years ago and sit on the west bank of the Nile river in northern Egypt.
The vertical shafts identified below the ground were about 33 to 39 feet in diameter, located at a depth of at least 2,130 feet, the researchers said, adding that they may support the pyramid, which needs 'a strong foundation, otherwise it may sink'.
The team showed an image created by using the pulses which they claim includes 'a complex, luminous structure with distinct vibrations' they believe is 'an actual underground city'.
'The existence of vast chambers beneath the earth's surface, comparable in size to the pyramids themselves, have a remarkably strong correlation between the legendary Halls of Amenti,' Ms Ciccolo said.
Prof Malanga and Mr Biondi published a separate peer-reviewed paper in October 2022 in the scientific journal Remote Sensing, which found hidden rooms and ramps inside Khafre, along with evidence of a thermal anomaly near the pyramid's base.
The new study used similar technology but with extra help from satellites orbiting Earth.
Radar signals from two satellites about 420 miles above Earth were directed into the Khafre pyramid.
The experts then monitor how they bounce back and convert the signals into sound waves, which allows them to 'see' through the solid stone and map out underground structures in 3D.
Prof Malanga claimed the results had been 'completely consistent' and using two satellites ruled out the chance of 'misinterpretation'.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
Oldest written reference to Moses may be revealed in ancient Egyptian desert inscriptions, researcher says
A researcher may have uncovered the oldest-ever written references to Moses, dating back 3,800 years and hidden in an Egyptian desert. The two etchings were found at Serabit el-Khadim, an ancient turquoise mining site in the Sinai desert where Semitic laborers once worked during the Middle Bronze Age. The Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions date back between 1800 and 1600 B.C. They were etched centuries before the earliest parts of the Bible were written between the 10th and 7th centuries B.C. The two inscriptions, among many at the site, were first discovered in the early 1900s – but they're now being reanalyzed by an American-Israeli epigraphist named Michael S. Bar-Ron. The expert, who's also a graduate student at Ariel University, spoke with Fox News Digital about the discovery. Bar-Ron posits that the inscriptions read "Zot M'Moshe" and "Ne'um Moshe." The phrases may mean "This is from Moses" and "Declaration of Moses," respectively. If verified, the inscriptions are the earliest written mention of Moses outside the Bible. The inscriptions also reference El, a deity associated with the Abrahamic God, while censuring the ancient pagan goddess Ba`alat. If verified, the inscriptions are the earliest written mention of Moses outside the Bible. Speaking to Fox News Digital, Bar-Ron noted that the Serabit el-Khadim site once housed a temple to Ba`alat. Some of the etchings, Bar-Ron says, seem to reflect resistance to the goddess's worship from Semitic workers. "[Ra]ather than lauding Ba`alat … [the] readings curse out the Ba`alat cult, with words of warning and rebuke to its followers," Bar-Ron said. He added, "They include the terms 'BŠ' – 'for shame' or 'this is shameful' – and 'nimosh,' [which means] 'let us leave' [or] 'remove ourselves.'" The Herculean task of translating the ancient etchings took nearly a decade, Bar-Ron said. "I spent eight years actively involved in the painstaking, oft-frustrating reconstruction of some 23 wordy Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions," the epigraphist noted. "That is, based on the principles of the foremost greats in the field, and informed by the work of my distinguished colleagues in the field." He also believes the "Moses" inscriptions may have a common author, pointing to certain "stylistic points" such as word usage. Bar-Ron's larger graduate thesis explores "a Mosaic-type leadership" in the region at the time. He described the latest revelations about the inscriptions as "non-essential icing on the cake." "The finding 'Zot M'Moshe' and 'Ne'um Moshe' were really last-minute discoveries and non-essential to that subpoint (possible Mosaic authorship), within a much more serious thesis," he said. Bar-Ron also noted that his findings will be peer-reviewed in the future; his research has already been edited over 100 times. "If we were drawing such conclusions on the basis of one or two inscriptions, it would be weak," he observed. "Rather, they are based on what is understood across the full set found at Serabit el-Khadim." "I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for educated readers to actually read the proto-thesis itself." Excavators have long searched for archaeological evidence of Moses, mostly without success. Last summer, an ancient sword from the era of the Book of Exodus was uncovered in Egypt. More recently, a French expert identified ancient "propaganda" praising Ramesses II, the Egyptian leader who may have challenged Moses.
National Geographic
11-08-2025
- National Geographic
Were these ancient sites built by aliens? Here's why some people think so.
Mysterious ancient sites dot every corner of Earth. Some of these archaeological sites seem to defy the technological capabilities of their time, either because they're too big, too heavy, or too complex. As such, some suggest the ancient builders of the Egyptian pyramids, the Nasca Lines, and others were following an extraterrestrial instruction manual. Perhaps the hands that crafted these ancient structures weren't really of this world. To be sure, it's fun to think about whether aliens have visited Earth. After all, humans are on the threshold of expanding our reach in space, and places like Mars are in our sight.
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Yahoo
3 myths about metabolism could be holding you back
EDITOR'S NOTE: The podcast Chasing Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the medical science behind some of life's mysteries big and small. You can listen to episodes here. (CNN)— Think speeding up your metabolism is key to losing weight? Metabolism has grown into one of the biggest buzzwords in the wellness industry — a tricky code that, if deciphered, is believed to unlock the secrets of weight loss and overall health. Despite the term's ubiquity, one scientist says many people don't understand much of how this basic bodily process works. 'They think it has something to do with how much food we can eat without gaining weight or something like that,' Dr. Kevin Hall told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently on his podcast, Chasing Life. Hall wants to elevate metabolism for different reasons. 'Metabolism is just this incredible biochemical process that basically turns the food that we eat and the oxygen that we breathe into essentially … everything we are and everything we do,' he said. A leading nutrition and metabolism scientist, Hall is well-known for his research on contestants from the reality show 'The Biggest Loser' that helped explain what set participants who kept the weight off apart from those who gained it back. He spent more than two decades at the National Institutes of Health. His later work on ultraprocessed foods investigated its link to obesity, including one study that demonstrated it actively caused participants to overeat. Hall announced his early retirement and exit from NIH in April, citing censorship of how his research findings were communicated. He's now coauthor of the new book 'Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us' alongside journalist Julia Belluz. Metabolism and weight loss enter conversations arm in arm, but this, according to Hall, can be reductive. 'I just find it incredibly frustrating sometimes that this idea of metabolism, this really beautiful physiological process that is so fundamental to life, is kind of talked about as, 'Oh well, if you take this supplement, you can boost your metabolism and lose weight,'' he explained to Gupta. You can listen to the full episode here. Is a faster or higher metabolism really the highway to weight loss? Hall is here to set the record straight, highlighting three misconceptions about metabolism that show there is more to it than meets the eye. Myth 1: People with obesity have slow metabolisms One common belief is that a slower metabolism results in a higher body weight. But mostly, Hall said, the opposite is true. 'Generally, larger people have faster metabolisms than smaller people,' he told Gupta. Hall attributed the pervasiveness of this myth to the way researchers designed early metabolism studies. Scientists initially tried to match up participants' caloric intake to their weight, but they didn't account for the fact that these calorie counts were self-reported. It turned out that those with obesity often underreported the number of calories they ate to a larger degree than their leaner counterparts. This, Hall said, 'led people to a conclusion that, well, if they're eating less calories and they're maintaining their weight, then they must be burning less calories. And maybe the reason why they have obesity is because they have slow metabolisms.' Modern technology now allows researchers to rely on data, not participants' own reports. 'When we actually directly measure people's metabolisms, people with obesity have higher metabolic rates on average than people who are lean,' Hall noted. But the myth that we should be boosting metabolism to treat obesity has stubbornly persisted — and has at times led to deadly consequences. When Stanford University researchers discovered that the chemical compound 2,4-dinitrophenol, or DNP, increased metabolism levels in the 1930s, they enthusiastically promoted it as a safe and effective tool for treating obesity. While DNP did boost metabolism, it also led to side effects that included blindness and death, causing federal drug regulators to quickly withdraw it from the market. 'Maybe,' Hall suggested, 'it shouldn't be too much of a surprise later to realize that with something so fundamentally important to life as metabolism, you can't just turn it up and turn it down with a pharmaceutical drug and not expect some pretty severe side effects, including death.' Myth 2: Metabolism slows down as we age Like weight, age might not affect metabolism as much as you may assume. 'It turns out that until you get to very advanced ages, we're talking 70s and 80s, it looks like our metabolic rate is roughly constant,' Hall said. There are, of course, changes in the aging body that can impact metabolic rates. People 'past the age of 30 or so,' Hall said, are 'tending to lose muscle mass or tending to lose lean mass, and they're tending to gain fat mass. And that alone is anticipated to result in a lower metabolism.' That's because lean muscle burns more calories than fat. But it's these age-related changes — that are not inevitable — and not age itself, that influence one's metabolism. 'Once you get rid of that effect … it doesn't seem like there's a fundamental aging effect to slow metabolism as, as we get older,' Hall concluded. A couple ways to combat the loss of lean muscle mass as you age is by engaging in twice-a-week strength training and getting enough protein in your diet (but no need to go overboard). Myth 3: A high metabolism is necessary for weight loss Another pillar of metabolism mythology is the idea that a slow metabolism is the enemy of continued weight loss. Interventions such as dieting are believed to slow metabolism to the point that you can't lose any additional weight. But keeping your metabolism from slowing down isn't the key to sustained weight loss, Hall said. In fact, it's just the opposite. 'The people who are most successful at losing weight and keeping it off are the ones who sport the slowest metabolisms or the greatest reductions in metabolism,' he said. 'It's kind of like stretching a spring, right?' The more intensely someone diets or exercises, the more weight they'll lose and the more their metabolism will slow down, he explained in his book. Hall's research showed that a slower metabolism 'didn't seem to determine anyone's ability to lose weight or keep it off in the short or long run.' By uncoupling metabolism from the weight loss conversation, Hall said he hopes everyone can appreciate the phenomenon for what it really is. Misinformation about metabolism 'has really distracted people, I think, from the real beauty of what this is,' he told Gupta. 'It's harnessing the continuous flow of matter and energy in our food and in our breath and powering every cell in our body, as well as the bodies and cells of practically every organism that we have ever encountered,' Hall said. 'It's a fundamental component of life, and it's just incredibly fascinating.' We hope these three insights help you understand your metabolism better. Listen to the full episode here. And join us next week for a new episode of Chasing Life.
