Archaeologists explore ancient security system in Great Pyramid of Giza

Archaeologists are now exploring an ancient security mechanism consisting of an intricate system of blocks, grooves and shafts that was installed in the Great Pyramid of Giza over 4,500 years ago to protect the mummified body of Pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops) and his treasures from grave robbers.

Egyptologists are hoping the investigations could lead them to the still-undiscovered mummified remains and hidden treasures of Pharaoh Khufu (who reigned circa 2551 - 2528 BC), or at least shed light on their possible whereabouts.

On Monday, the Live Science webpage posted the latest findings, photos and a brief video on the king’s chamber in the Great Pyramid, along with two other large compartments known as the queen’s chamber and the subterranean chamber.

A longer video on the Great Pyramid’s security mechanism is due to air on the show “Unearthed: Dark Secrets of the Pyramid” on the US-based Science Channel on Tuesday, July 12. In the video, computer renderings and animations reconstruct the “very primitive machine” that protected the king’s chamber, according to the findings of archaeologist Mark Lehner of the Ancient Egypt Research Associates.

Consisting of several granite blocks dropped into grooves and down shafts to block the entrances to the king’s chamber, this ancient security mechanism has been known to archaeologists for well over 200 years. However, more recent claims suggest that the king’s chamber may not have been Khufu’s actual burial chamber, but rather a decoy to deter grave robbers from looting his treasures or damaging his mummy.

According to Lehner’s findings, the king’s chamber was "probably already robbed of its contents sometime between the end of Khufu's reign and the collapse of the Old Kingdom” around 2134 BC.

These findings have led some archaeologists to point to the presence of other shafts within the Great Pyramid as possible gateways to Khufu’s actual burial chamber, mummy and treasures, perhaps fitted with their own ancient security systems.

The function of these secondary shafts has been the source of controversy for several decades. Some archaeologists claim they serve as air ducts, while others argue they may serve symbolic astronomical functions as the pharaoh’s portals to the stars and heavens.

In 2011, a team of scientists from the University of Leeds deployed a small camera-wielding robot to explore the tunnels and shafts inside the Great Pyramid. While the robotic probe discovered many intricate details, it also encountered several dead-ends and blocked passageways.

A few of the blocked passageways were fitted with what has been described as copper handles or ornaments.

Previous attempts at robotic exploration of Khufu’s pyramid were conducted in 1993 and 2002.

Zahi Hawass, former minister of antiquities, told Live Science in 2013 that he thinks these other shafts may ultimately lead to Khufu's real burial chamber. The sarcophagus in the king's chamber is simply a decoy, Hawass said, meant to fool looters into thinking that they had found Khufu's tomb.

"I really believe that Cheops' chamber is not discovered yet, and all three chambers were just to deceive the thieves, and the treasures of Khufu are still hidden inside the Great Pyramid," Hawass told Live Science in 2013.

In October 2015, Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry announced that it would conduct scans on a number of pyramids, including Khufu’s Great Pyramid of Giza, using infrared thermography muon topography and other non-invasive scans in hopes of mapping and better understanding the interior designs of these ancient edifices.

Based on preliminary results of the scans, “we have some good news,” said former Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty at a news conference in late 2015. Damaty added that “although no discoveries have yet been made, scans have revealed several anomalies, which indicate that a discovery could be made in the pyramids by the end of 2016.”

In November 2015, researchers detected significant thermal anomalies at the eastern side of the Great Pyramid that could possibly reveal the presence of an unknown cavity.

The scans and their findings have yet to be analyzed in depth.