After nearly 2 centuries of discovery, the nearly 4,500-year-old Sahure pyramid has just revealed a never-before-seen system of rooms with a passage starting from the main burial chamber.
According to Heritage Daily and Ancient Origins, an Egyptian-German archaeological delegation carrying out a project to restore the ruined structure inside the Sahure pyramid accidentally found a ruined passage inside the pyramid, leading to to a system of eight previously unknown rooms.
The 48 m high Sahure Pyramid is one of Egypt’s most famous pyramids, located in the Abu Sir Pyramid Field south of Giza.
The famous pyramid of Sahure and the area where scientists discovered the secret passage – Photo: EGYPT MINISTRY OF TOURISM
This is the resting place of Pharaoh Sahure, the 2nd ruler of the Fifth Dynasty (2465 to 2325 BC) of Egypt’s Old Kingdom period.
Pharaoh Sahure’s reign was one of the most prosperous economically and culturally, with many major trade routes opening up. This pharaoh also chose not to be buried in traditional royal cemeteries such as Saqqara or Giza, but chose to build his pyramid alone at Abusir.
Although smaller in size than the pyramids of its predecessors, the Sahure pyramid is more elaborate with more than 10,000 square meters of intricately carved reliefs, some of which are considered unparalleled treasures in history. Egyptian art.
Surely inside it was also very luxurious. That is also the reason why this magnificent pyramid became the object of tomb robbers millennia later.
However, in the process of trying to restore the heavily damaged burial chamber area, scientists accidentally found a passage.
Using 3D laser scanning with a mobile LiDAR scanner, the research team led by Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled from the Department of Egyptology of the Julius-Maximilians University in Würzburg (Germany) is continuing to map hidden areas. hidden pyramid.
They have not yet reached the bottom of the newly discovered rooms, but believe that careful restoration and reinforcement will help do so in the future.
Scientists in a reinforced walkway inside the Sahure pyramid – Photo: EGYPT MINISTRY OF TOURISM
Because this is a pyramid with extremely high historical value, the restoration process needs to put ensuring the integrity of the structure first.
The archaeological team also believes that the newly discovered rooms may be storage rooms, containing artifacts that promise to provide more details about the Sahure Dynasty.