Great Pyramid’s builder: A mystery no more

TDT | Manama              

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The life of Khufu, the Egyptian monarch who ordered the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza, had been shrouded in mystery for centuries, but a group of international archaeologists have now claimed that his tomb has been located and that the findings from the excavation now underway will overshadow all archaeological finds so far.

The claim was made by Mission Pharaoh, which is a team of archaeological experts from the USA, Germany, Poland, and Mexico who have been searching for clues to the tomb of the builder of the Great Pyramid since 2006.

An email statement from the mission said the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) of the Egyptian government had conducted archaeological research at the foot of the Giza Plateau, in the village of Nazlet El-Samman, and found Egyptian culture dating back to the construction of the Great Pyramid.

In October last year, experts from the mission conducted ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys in the village of Nazlet El-Samman in two locations where the existence of a necropolis and the Lower Temple of Khufu from the time of the construction of the Great Pyramid was assumed, the mission said.

An email statement from the mission stated, "The results of GPR unequivocally indicated the existence of underground anomalies, such as tunnels and chambers containing metals, possibly gilded decorations, chests, and artefacts similar to those found in Tutankhamun’s tomb... At the same time, the location was indicated as: 29°58’42.70"N 31°8’22.08"E, where, according to our information, there is a very favourable entrance to the complex of underground tunnels leading directly to the tomb of the Builder of the Great Pyramid."

Later, in November last year, SCA discovered the first fragments of the ruins of the Palace and Temple complex from the time of construction of the Great Pyramid in Giza, as suspected by the mission, the statement revealed, adding that excavations have just started in the area of the Builder’s tomb. The Daily Tribune has contacted SCA and is awaiting its response to the development.