Scientists discover 'vast city' underneath Egypt's Giza pyramid, reveal new details about mysterious structures

The mystery surrounding an alleged "underground city" beneath Egypt's pyramids has deepened, as scientists revealed new details about what could be hidden more than 4,000 feet below the earth's surface.

A team of Italian researchers have claimed they uncovered massive vertical shafts encased in "spiral staircases" and an enormous limestone platform with two vast chambers, containing descending channels that resemble pipelines, reports Daily Mail. 

During a press briefing on Saturday, the researchers explained that a water system had been detected beneath this platform, located over 2,100 feet below the Khafre Pyramid, with underground pathways extending even deeper into the earth.

The team used radar pulses to create high-resolution images deep below the surface, similar to how sonar is used to map the ocean floor. 

Although these startling claims have been met with skepticism by some experts, who label them as "false" and "exaggerated", the researchers are confident there is "an entire hidden world of many structures" more than 2,000 feet below the water system.

"When we magnify the images [in the future], we will reveal that beneath it lies what can only be described as a true underground city," said Corrado Malanga from Italy's University of Pisa in a statement.

The team's findings, which have not undergone peer review, also suggest that the Khafre Pyramid might conceal undiscovered secrets, including the fabled Hall of Records. This legendary concept is often associated with ancient Egyptian lore, believed to be a hidden chamber beneath the Great Pyramid or the Sphinx that contains vast knowledge about the ancient civilization.

Professor Lawrence Conyers, a radar expert at the University of Denver who focuses on archaeology, told DailyMail that it is not possible for the technology to penetrate that deeply into the ground, making the idea of an underground city "a huge exaggeration".

However, he suggested that it is conceivable small structures, such as shafts and chambers, may exist beneath the pyramids, having been there before the pyramids were built, because the site was "special to ancient people". 

He highlighted how "the Mayans and other peoples in ancient Mesoamerica often built pyramids on top of the entrances to caves or caverns that had ceremonial significance to them". 

The work by Malanga, Filippo Biondi from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, and Egyptologist Armando Mei was previously discussed only in an in-person briefing in Italy this past week.

The project's spokesperson, Nicole Ciccolo, shared a new video Saturday of them discussing the research that has yet to be published in a scientific journal, where they would need to be analysed by independent experts.

The team focused on the Khafre Pyramid, one of three pyramids of the Giza complex. The other two are Khufu and Menkaure.

All three were built 4,500 years ago on a rocky plateau on the west bank of the Nile River in northern Egypt, and were constructed in the name of a pharaoh.

Photo: Collected

The vertical shafts identified underneath Khafre were about 33 to 39 feet in diameter, located at a depth of at least 2,130 feet. The team suggested that the structures could be supporting the pyramid.

"We did calculations and saw that the Khafre Pyramid is incredibly heavy, and to hold it up, it needs a solid foundation. Otherwise, it will sink," Malanga said.

Ciccolo also noted that the cylinder structures appeared "to serve as access points to this underground system". 

Below the shafts, the researchers discovered two massive rectangular enclosures, each measuring approximately 260 feet on each side. Each enclosure contains four shafts extending downward. 

During the briefing, the team revealed an image produced by radar pulses, showing the Khafre Pyramid along with the shafts and a "complex, luminous structure with distinct vibrations," which they believe is an underground city.

"The existence of vast chambers beneath the earth's surface, comparable in size to the pyramids themselves, have a remarkably strong correlation between the legendary Halls of Amenti," Ciccolo said. 

Malanga and Biondi published a separate peer-reviewed paper in October 2022 in the scientific journal Remote Sensing, which found hidden rooms and ramps inside Khafre, along with evidence of a thermal anomaly near the pyramid's base.

The new study used similar technology but benefited from satellites orbiting Earth.

By sending radar signals from two satellites 420 miles above Earth, the team was able to analyse how the signals bounced back, creating 3D maps of hidden underground structures.

"The readings were completely consistent, ruling out any chance of misinterpretation due to sound reflections," Malanga said. 

"Since each satellite observes from a different angle, their results must align for us to consider the data reliable. If something appears in one satellite's scan but not in the other's, we know it's a false signal or an artifact," he added.