Nine-meter hidden passage uncovered inside Egypt's Great Pyramid

Egypt unveiled on Thursday a hidden passage in the Pyramid of Cheops (the Great Pyramid) in Giza near Cairo, nine meters long and more than two meters wide, as a result of an international research project that has been going on for seven years.

Tourism and Antiquities Minister Ahmed Issa said during a press conference in front of the Great Pyramid, according to a ministry statement, "A gabled corridor (a polygon geometric design similar to the upper part of the triangle) was uncovered in the northern face of the Great Pyramid of King Khufu, 9 meters long and about 2.10 meters wide."

The discovery was made within the framework of the ScanPyramids ("Pyramids Residents") project, which was launched in 2015 in cooperation between major international universities from France, Germany, Canada and Japan, and a group of Egyptian experts, under the supervision of an international scientific and archaeological committee headed by former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass.

The project relies on surveying the inside of the pyramid using advanced technology that does not require excavation, to discover voids or possible unknown internal structures and try to find construction methods that are still mysterious.

The 146-meter-long Pyramid of Cheops, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built more than 4500,<> years ago on the Giza plateau west of Cairo, and contains three well-known rooms, and was built like the rest of Egypt's pyramids as a tomb for the pharaoh.

Khufu was the second king of the Fourth Egyptian Dynasty, which dates back to the twenty-sixth century BC.

Hawass told the conference that "it's highly likely that this corridor is protecting something. In my personal opinion, it may be King Khufu's burial chamber."

Hawass also responded to claims that the ancient Egyptians were the real builders of the pyramids of Giza, saying, "I would like to bring a stone from the Great Pyramid and put it in the mouth of any human being who says that this pyramid was built by aliens or any unknown civilization. This pyramid was built by the ancient Egyptians," he said, noting that there are papyrus documents confirming this.

Theories are circulating from time to time around the world, some of which question the role of the ancient Egyptians in the construction of the pyramids, especially by supporters of the "African-central movement" (Afrocentric) who promote claims that the origin of Egyptian civilization is African, and that the builders of the pyramids were only black Africans.

In 2017, the project revealed a cavity inside the Great Pyramid up to the size of a two-hundred-seat aircraft.