Scientists race against ‘looters’ for Khufu’s lost tomb

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

The race is on to locate and excavate the long-lost tomb of Pharaoh Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramid, before it is plundered by tomb raiders. Recent breakthroughs by the research team of “Mission Pharaoh” have brought them tantalizingly close to discovering this historic site, but now they face a new threat - the illegal digging of locals seeking to beat them to the treasure.

According to insider reports, Mission Pharaoh’s scanning of the Giza Plateau last year pinpointed a promising area near the village of Nazlet El Samman, where a passage leading from the Great Pyramid to an underground complex was uncovered. This suggested they were closing in on Khufu’s final resting place, which is rumored to contain riches surpassing even those found in Tutankhamun’s tomb.

However, the excavation plan has hit a roadblock. The recent controversy over the restoration of the nearby Menkaure Pyramid has led to upheaval at Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, with the dismissal of the research director overseeing the Khufu project. This has frozen all official work at the site. Seizing the opportunity, local tomb robbers have moved in, digging illegal shafts and tunnels in an attempt to reach the ancient chambers before the archaeologists.

Shocking footage obtained by the Mission Pharaoh team shows the robbers’ progress, as they burrow ever closer to what could be the most significant archaeological find of the century. “Without decisive action, the robbers will be the first to reach the tomb, and invaluable treasures and information from the time of the Great Pyramid’s construction may soon be lost forever,” warns a spokesperson for Mission Pharaoh.

The team is urgently appealing for $100,000 in funding to launch “rescue excavations” and beat the looters to Khufu’s resting place. Egyptologists estimate that a focused three-month dig could uncover the long-hidden secrets of this ancient wonder. The eyes of the archaeological world are now firmly fixed on Giza, as a race against time begins to protect humanity’s shared heritage. The outcome could rewrite our understanding of one of history’s greatest enigmas - the construction of the Great Pyramid. Will the tomb robbers prevail, or will science triumph in this unequal fight?