Archaeologists were able to find an odd and mysterious underground "anomaly" at an ancient Egyptian cemetery site close to the famous complex of the pyramids of Giza.
Surveying the Western Cemetery
This mysterious anomaly was detected with the assistance of surveys that involve some geophysical techniques. These were, namely, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Such approaches allowed the archaeologists to pick up potential structures under the surface.
Such surveys led to quite significant findings, as they pointed toward the possible presence of previously unknown archaeological remains. This was noted in the "GPR and ERT Exploration in the Western Cemetery in Giza, Egypt" study.
Both surveys focused on Giza's Western Cemetery that was built around 4,500 years ago. This was a crucial burial place for royalty and high-class officials of ancient Egypt. The cemetery is also densely full of mastabas, which are a kind of underground grave of ancient Egypt.
The authors explain that a mastaba is a tomb type that has a flat roof and rectangular structure over the surface of the ground. It consists of mud bricks or limestone. It has a shaft that is vertically positioned and connected to a chamber in the subsurface.
Most of these sites are buried beneath the sand. Given this, locating their precise positions is not an easy feat. Under these conditions, geophysical exploration methods can be used to identify their positions.
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Mysterious Anomaly Found
Though mastabas fill the Western Cemetery, there appeared to be a vacant and flat area, with no structures above the ground. No earlier excavations have been conducted in this site. This is the main area that the researchers surveyed.
Investigations revealed that there was a remarkable subsurface anomaly within the data that they think corresponds to a mix of a shallow structure linked to a deeper one.
This shallow structure, which is situated at a depth of around 6.5 feet, has an L-shape and spans roughly 33 by 49 feet. The study notes that it could be an entrance of some sort towards the deeper structure.
The authors note that this could have been sand-full, implying that it was backfilled post-construction.
As for the deeper structure, it sits deeply at roughly 16 to 33 feet and spans an area of roughly 33 by 33 feet.
Though it remains unclear what lies under the surface in this exact location, such an anomaly could match a structure that is grave-related. The authors note that they think that the shallow and deeper structures' continuity is crucial. Based on the results of the survey, they cannot conclude the exact material that causes the anomaly, though this could be a huge archaeological structure in the subsurface.
They add that it is important for the remains to be excavated promptly in order for their purpose to be established. They also note that a more detailed survey would be necessary for possibilities to be confirmed.
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