Pyramid 'Thermal Anomalies' Found During Infrared Testing – Could They Be Secret Chambers?

Egypt's Giza pyramids have "thermal anomalies," according to archaeologists and scientists doing infrared testing, leading to speculation that the ancient structures could contain undiscovered secret chambers.

The Ministry of Antiquities announced the existence of such thermal anomalies on Sunday, according to ABC News, with a statement saying it could mean the "presence of voids behind the surface, internal air currents, different materials."

Cairo University and Heritage Innovation Preservation Institute started a project last month that focused on scanning Egypt's largest pyramids (Khufu, Khafre, the Bent and the Red pyramids) using infrared thermography.

The #ScanPyramids team found one anomaly on the eastern side of the Khufu pyramid, noted the network.

CNN said the scientists also discovered anomalies at the Khafre pyramid along with two pyramids in Dahshur.

"All anomalies detected and data collected will now be subject to further treatment and data analysis," according to a ministry Facebook posting. "During the next phase of the #ScanPyramids project, several formulation(s) of hypotheses will be done.

"The team, in cooperation with engineers of Dassault Systemes, (Heritage Innovation Preservation Institute's) partner, will start 3D modeling and simulations of the Giza plateau, which should lead to a better understanding of the plans and the techniques of (the) pyramids construction," said the ministry.

Richard Enmarch, a senior lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Liverpool told ABC News that the anomalies are not necessarily caused by secret chambers.

"A void could be one reason, but it's not necessarily the most probable," said Enmarch. "It could also be explained by quality of the stones, whether the stones were cracked and the air flow was able to travel around."

Kate Spence, a senior lecturer in Egyptian archaeology at the University of Cambridge, agreed, said there are several possible explanations for the anomalies.

"Behind any of the stones there may be gaps, rubble, solid mortar, large building stones or bedrock," she said. "Each of these will have rather different capacities for conducting heat.

"Also, the surviving surface is not flat, and will therefore heat and cool at different rates depending on direct exposure to the sun. I am therefore unsurprised that thermal differences appear."


Related Stories:

• Ben Carson on Pyramids: They Were Used to Store Grain, Not Bury Rulers
  
• One Million Mummies, or More, Found in an Egyptian Graveyard