Cosmic Rays With Tunnel Vision

Archaeologists from the University of Cornell did a deep dive in to a series of scans captured as part of the ScanPyramids project between 2015 and 2017 in which cosmic rays were used to detect voids by analyzing “muons” — high-energy particles that constantly fall on Earth.  Muons are the key to unveiling more details about the pyramid, as they behave differently on stone and air, allowing researchers to use powerful detectors to map out air pockets in stone structures. 

As noted in the follow-up study published on arXiv, the scans helped map the Great Pyramid’s structure, identifying two voids in the process — a small one near the north face and a much larger passageway located above the grand gallery.  While the function of both tunnels remains unclear, the larger of the two, which is about 98 feet long and 20 feet high, could potentially be the opening to the hidden burial chamber of Pharaoh Khufu, for whom the pyramid was built.

Supercharged Scan Plans

Researchers hope to get a glimpse inside the voids using a telescope system with 100 times the sensitivity of those used in the Scan Pyramids project.

These supercharged cosmic rays will capture muons from “nearly all angles,” allowing researchers to analyze energy waves detailed enough to produce a high-resolution 3D image.

Detectors of this magnitude are not tiny enough to place inside the pyramid, so they’ll have to be placed outside and moved along the base to build the data set. The extreme sensitivity of the scanners could potentially be so strong they may be able to detect pottery and other artifacts housed within the newfound tunnels. Read more on this by clicking here.