THIS 'gang' could have built the Great Pyramid of Giza, expert offers proof that...

Who built Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza? The mystery has haunted scientists for years. Now, ancient inscriptions discovered inside the monument have answered the great question about the mammoth structure. Early studies by ancient Greeks showed that the pyramid was built by 100,000 slaves. Each of them worked in shifts for three months and for over 20 years. However, hints inside the pyramid showed that paid labourers and not slaves built the Great Pyramid of Giza. They were skilled labourers who worked on the pyramid continuously and took only one day off every 10 days. The inscriptions were uncovered by Egyptologist Dr Zahi Hawass and his team while they were scanning a series of narrow chambers above the King’s Chamber.

Great Pyramid mystery: Statues on labourers and tombs found inside pyramid

Dr Hawass made the revelation during an episode of the Matt Beall Limitless podcast. His team calls this group of men "work gangs" belonging to the 13th-century BC who left markings on the walls of the pyramid that had never been seen before. Besides the inscriptions, the team also uncovered tombs of these labourers south of the pyramid. There are also statues of workers carrying stones and 21 hieroglyphic titles describing them as "overseer of the side of the pyramid" and “craftsman.” Hawass said that if they were slaves, then they would not have their tombs inside the pyramid. Also Read: Scientist suggests Egyptian pyramids were 'ancient ports', built near a Nile branch that disappeared

He also spoke about how the pyramid was constructed. A quarry just 1,000 feet away from the site provided the limestone to build the pyramid, which was transported using a rubble-and-mud ramp. Now, Hawass plans to send a robot into the Great Pyramid to learn more about it. This is not the first time that inscriptions have been found etched on the walls of the pyramid. Experts dismissed them as fake, saying someone forged them hundreds of years after it was built. But now that Hawass has found "three more cartes within the King's Chamber", it seems likely that the labourers who built the pyramid etched them. Also Read: Scientists detect huge city under Giza pyramids in Egypt. Not possible, experts say

Great Pyramid mystery: The King's Chamber is hard to reach

"They were found in chambers that are difficult and dangerous to access, and they use writing styles that only trained Egyptologists can accurately interpret," said Dr Hawass. He cites their hard accessibility as proof that the inscriptions could not have been made by anyone else. "It’s nearly impossible that someone in recent times could have forged something like this. You must climb about 45 feet and crawl through tight spaces to even reach those chambers," he said. But, in the late 18th and 19th centuries, some European visitors are believed to have entered the chamber and scratched their names onto the stone walls. But Hawass is sure that their recent discovery is way older. Besides, they also found tools inside the tombs that would have been used to build the Great Pyramid. Also Read: 20,000-year-old labyrinth with 3,000 rooms lies under Egypt pyramid, centuries-old claim resurfaces

The Great Pyramid of Giza stands alongside two other pyramids and is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It was constructed by Pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. The other two pyramids on the Giza plateau include the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure. There is also the Great Sphinx. Why these pyramids and the Sphinx were built remains a mystery. How they were built has also been a topic of debate for decades.