Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, even after over 4,500 years of its existence, is continuing to drop unique nuggets of history embedded within its millennia-old mystique. Now, a hidden corridor nine metres (30 feet) long has been discovered close to the main entrance of the pyramid. The latest discovery&nbsp;could lead to further findings, Egyptian antiquities officials said on Thursday.

The discovery within the pyramid was made under the Scan Pyramids project. The project, kickstarted in&nbsp;2015, has been using non-invasive technology including infrared thermography, 3D simulations and cosmic-ray imaging to peer inside the structure.

<h2>Tunnel inside Giza pyramid: What it means?</h2>

The discovery could contribute to knowledge about the construction of the pyramid as well as the purpose of a gabled limestone structure that sits in front of the corridor, an article published in the journal Nature said on Thursday.

<h2>Tunnel inside Giza pyramid: Why was it constructed?</h2>

The unfinished corridor was&nbsp;created to redistribute the pyramid's weight around either the main entrance&nbsp;or around another as yet undiscovered chamber or space, according to&nbsp;Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

ALSO WATCH&nbsp;|&nbsp;Three tombs discovered under Egypt’s Great Pyramids

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"We are&nbsp;going to continue our scanning so we will see what we can do... to figure out what we can find out beneath it, or just by the end of this corridor," he told reporters after a press conference in front of the pyramid.

The Great Pyramid was constructed as a monumental tomb around 2560 BC during the reign of the Pharaoh Khufu. Up until 1889 when Eiffel Tower in Paris was not built, it was the tallest structure made by humans.

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/researchers-may-have-solved-mystery-of-how-pyramids-were-built-512515">Researchers may have solved mystery of how pyramids were built</a>

Scientists detected the corridor through cosmic-ray muon radiography. They then&nbsp;retrieved its image by feeding a 6mm-thick endoscope from Japan through a tiny joint in the pyramid's stones.

Earlier in 2017, Scan Pyramids researchers announced the discovery of a void at least 30 metres long inside the Great Pyramid, the first major inner structure found since the 19th century.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, even after over 4,500 years of its existence, is continuing to drop unique nuggets of history embedded within its millennia-old mystique.

Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, even after over 4,500 years of its existence, is continuing to drop unique nuggets of history embedded within its millennia-old mystique. Now, a hidden corridor nine metres (30 feet) long has been discovered close to the main entrance of the pyramid. The latest discovery could lead to further findings, Egyptian antiquities officials said on Thursday. The discovery within the pyramid was made under the Scan Pyramids project. The project, kickstarted in 2015, has been using non-invasive technology including infrared thermography, 3D simulations and cosmic-ray imaging to peer inside the structure. Tunnel inside Giza pyramid: What it means? The discovery could contribute to knowledge about the construction of the pyramid as well as the purpose of a gabled limestone structure that sits in front of the corridor, an article published in the journal Nature said on Thursday. Tunnel inside Giza pyramid: Why was it constructed? The unfinished corridor was created to redistribute the pyramid's weight around either the main entrance or around another as yet undiscovered chamber or space, according to Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. ALSO WATCH | Three tombs discovered under Egypt’s Great Pyramids × "We are going to continue our scanning so we will see what we can do... to figure out what we can find out beneath it, or just by the end of this corridor," he told reporters after a press conference in front of the pyramid. The Great Pyramid was constructed as a monumental tomb around 2560 BC during the reign of the Pharaoh Khufu. Up until 1889 when Eiffel Tower in Paris was not built, it was the tallest structure made by humans. ALSO READ | Researchers may have solved mystery of how pyramids were built Scientists detected the corridor through cosmic-ray muon radiography. They then retrieved its image by feeding a 6mm-thick endoscope from Japan through a tiny joint in the pyramid's stones. Earlier in 2017, Scan Pyramids researchers announced the discovery of a void at least 30 metres long inside the Great Pyramid, the first major inner structure found since the 19th century. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Egypt discovers hidden corridor in Great Pyramid of Giza

A passenger plane-sized &quot;void&quot; has been discovered in the middle of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, where it has lain secret and untouched for 4,500 years, scientists revealed on Thursday.

The space is one of four cavities, along with the king and queen&#39;s chambers and &quot;Grand Gallery&quot;, now known to exist inside the giant monument constructed under pharaoh Khufu of ancient Egypt.

&quot;It is big,&quot; said co-discoverer Mehdi Tayoubi of the ScanPyramids project, which has been exploring Khufu&#39;s pyramid since October 2015 with non-invasive technology using subatomic particle scans.

&quot;It&#39;s the size of a 200-seater airplane, in the heart of the pyramid,&quot; Tayoubi told AFP of the discovery, published in science journal Nature.

Towering over the Giza complex on Cairo&#39;s outskirts alongside smaller pyramids for kings Menkaure and Khafre and the Great Sphinx, the Khufu&#39;s pyramid is the oldest and only surviving construction among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and one of the largest buildings ever erected on Earth.

The cavity is the first major structure found inside the Great Pyramid since the 19th century, the research team said.

&quot;There have been many theories about the existence of secret chambers inside the pyramid,&quot; said Tayoubi. &quot;But none have predicted anything this big.&quot;

The exact shape and size of the void are fuzzy -- its purpose and possible contents a mystery.

But it is thought to be at least 30 metres (98 feet) long, and located above the &quot;Grand Gallery&quot; -- a sloped corridor almost 50 m long and 9 m high which links Khufu&#39;s burial chamber at the pyramid&#39;s centre to a tunnel leading outside.

Untouched for 4,500 years&nbsp;

The monument&nbsp;139 metres high today, and 230 metres wide was erected as a tomb for Khufu, also known as Cheops. To this day, nobody knows quite how it was built.

The void said co-author Kunihiro Morishima from the Nagoya University in Japan, &quot;was not known by anyone until now, from when the pyramid was built 4,500 years ago&quot;.

&quot;The big void is completely closed,&quot; he added, which means anything inside it would not have been &quot;touched by anyone after the pyramid (was) built&quot;.

The pharaohs of ancient Egypt built these monumental tombs for themselves, complete with sarcophagus to hold their embalmed mummies, and stocked with everything they could require for the afterlife -- food, clothing, and jewellery.

Khufu&#39;s pyramid was plundered long before it was visited by modern archaeologists, and no relics remain from any of the known chambers.

For this reason, the new cavity may be &quot;very exciting,&quot; said Morishima, though it is not known if it contains anything at all.

The team used a technique called &quot;cosmic-ray muon radiography&quot;, which allowed them to visualise &quot;known and potentially unknown&quot; voids in the pyramid without having to touch a single stone.

Muons are charged, heavy particles formed from the interactions of cosmic rays with atoms in the upper atmosphere.

Similar to X-rays which can penetrate the human body and allow bone imaging, these particles can follow a mostly straight line through several hundreds of metres of stone before decaying or being absorbed, the team said.

By recording the position and direction of each muon as it travels through the pyramid, muon detectors can distinguish cavities from stone.

High confidence&nbsp;

&quot;We will continue to conduct muon imaging for revealing the detail&quot; of the void, said Morishima including its dimensions and inclination, and whether it consists of a single, large cavity or a complex of several.

&quot;Our muon imaging technology can&#39;t confirm (whether) there are some artifacts or not,&quot; he added. Anything inside would be &quot;too small for muon imaging.&quot;

The team is already turning its attention to new technology for the next step possibly a miniature robot that can travel through tiny holes to examine the inside of the void without disturbing anything.

The discovery, named simply &quot;Big Void&quot;, has been confirmed using three different muon technologies and three independent analyses, verifying its existence with &quot;high confidence,&quot; the authors said.

&quot;While there is currently no information about the role of this void, these findings show how modern particle physics can shed new light on the world&#39;s archaeological heritage,&quot; the authors wrote in Nature.

'It's the size of a 200-seater airplane, in the heart of the pyramid,' co-discoverer Mehdi Tayoubi said

A passenger plane-sized "void" has been discovered in the middle of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, where it has lain secret and untouched for 4,500 years, scientists revealed on Thursday. The space is one of four cavities, along with the king and queen's chambers and "Grand Gallery", now known to exist inside the giant monument constructed under pharaoh Khufu of ancient Egypt. "It is big," said co-discoverer Mehdi Tayoubi of the ScanPyramids project, which has been exploring Khufu's pyramid since October 2015 with non-invasive technology using subatomic particle scans. "It's the size of a 200-seater airplane, in the heart of the pyramid," Tayoubi told AFP of the discovery, published in science journal Nature. Towering over the Giza complex on Cairo's outskirts alongside smaller pyramids for kings Menkaure and Khafre and the Great Sphinx, the Khufu's pyramid is the oldest and only surviving construction among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and one of the largest buildings ever erected on Earth. The cavity is the first major structure found inside the Great Pyramid since the 19th century, the research team said. "There have been many theories about the existence of secret chambers inside the pyramid," said Tayoubi. "But none have predicted anything this big." The exact shape and size of the void are fuzzy -- its purpose and possible contents a mystery. But it is thought to be at least 30 metres (98 feet) long, and located above the "Grand Gallery" -- a sloped corridor almost 50 m long and 9 m high which links Khufu's burial chamber at the pyramid's centre to a tunnel leading outside. Untouched for 4,500 years The monument 139 metres high today, and 230 metres wide was erected as a tomb for Khufu, also known as Cheops. To this day, nobody knows quite how it was built. The void said co-author Kunihiro Morishima from the Nagoya University in Japan, "was not known by anyone until now, from when the pyramid was built 4,500 years ago". "The big void is completely closed," he added, which means anything inside it would not have been "touched by anyone after the pyramid (was) built". The pharaohs of ancient Egypt built these monumental tombs for themselves, complete with sarcophagus to hold their embalmed mummies, and stocked with everything they could require for the afterlife -- food, clothing, and jewellery. Khufu's pyramid was plundered long before it was visited by modern archaeologists, and no relics remain from any of the known chambers. For this reason, the new cavity may be "very exciting," said Morishima, though it is not known if it contains anything at all. The team used a technique called "cosmic-ray muon radiography", which allowed them to visualise "known and potentially unknown" voids in the pyramid without having to touch a single stone. Muons are charged, heavy particles formed from the interactions of cosmic rays with atoms in the upper atmosphere. Similar to X-rays which can penetrate the human body and allow bone imaging, these particles can follow a mostly straight line through several hundreds of metres of stone before decaying or being absorbed, the team said. By recording the position and direction of each muon as it travels through the pyramid, muon detectors can distinguish cavities from stone. High confidence "We will continue to conduct muon imaging for revealing the detail" of the void, said Morishima including its dimensions and inclination, and whether it consists of a single, large cavity or a complex of several. "Our muon imaging technology can't confirm (whether) there are some artifacts or not," he added. Anything inside would be "too small for muon imaging." The team is already turning its attention to new technology for the next step possibly a miniature robot that can travel through tiny holes to examine the inside of the void without disturbing anything. The discovery, named simply "Big Void", has been confirmed using three different muon technologies and three independent analyses, verifying its existence with "high confidence," the authors said. "While there is currently no information about the role of this void, these findings show how modern particle physics can shed new light on the world's archaeological heritage," the authors wrote in Nature.

Plane-sized 'void' found in Great Pyramid: Scientists

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Egypt discovers hidden corridor in Great Pyramid of Giza

Plane-sized 'void' found in Great Pyramid: Scientists