Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Researchers from Cairo University and the Technical University of Munich (TUM), working within the ScanPyramids research project, have discovered two hidden air-filled anomalies in the Menkaure Pyramid, the third-largest pyramid at Giza. This finding lends support to a longstanding hypothesis about a possible entrance on the eastern side of the pyramid.
Menkaure Pyramid. Credit: Wikipedia – CC BY-SA 2.5
The team used radar, ultrasound, and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to detect two air-filled voids beneath the eastern facade. These results provide initial evidence for an additional entrance at this location.
For some time, researchers have been intrigued by the structure of granite blocks on this side of Menkaure’s more than 60-meter-high pyramid. The stones are unusually polished over an area approximately four meters high and six meters wide—a feature otherwise only seen at the current known entrance on the north side. In 2019, researcher Stijn van den Hoven was among those who first proposed that another entrance could exist here.
A research team from Cairo University and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) investigated the eastern side of the Menkaure Pyramid as part of the ScanPyramids project. Their study revealed two structural anomalies located behind the pyramid’s smooth facade. By employing non-destructive testing techniques—including georadar, ultrasound, and electrical resistivity tomography—the researchers identified two clearly defined air-filled voids. This marks the first time that such structural anomalies have been detected behind this distinctive eastern facade.
Researchers have identified two air-filled voids in the Menkaure Pyramid. Credit: ScanPyramids project
The two voids are situated at depths of 1.4 meters and 1.13 meters behind the outer surface, with dimensions measuring approximately 1 meter high by 1.5 meters wide, and 0.9 meters by 0.7 meters, respectively. Achieving this level of precision in identifying air-filled spaces was made possible by combining all collected measurement data. The use of the Image Fusion methodology played a crucial role in confirming these findings.
‘The hypothesis of an entrance is very plausible’
“Following the significant validation of a hidden corridor in the Pyramid of Cheops in 2023, ScanPyramids has once again succeeded in making an important finding in Giza,” says Christian Grosse, professor of non-destructive testing at TUM.
“The testing methodology we developed allows very precise conclusions to be drawn about the nature of the pyramid’s interior without damaging the valuable structure. The hypothesis of another entrance is very plausible, and our results take us a big step closer to confirming it.”
The study was published in the journal NDT & E International
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer