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Claims of Ancient City Beneath Giza Pyramids Resurface, Challenging Conventional History
A startling new theory regarding a potential lost city concealed beneath Egypt’s iconic Giza pyramid complex has emerged, potentially revolutionizing our comprehension of ancient human civilization and pyramid construction if validated. This controversial hypothesis suggests the Giza complex and its famed pyramids are far older than previously believed, possibly dating back 38,000 years.
Researchers Propose a Pre-Flood Civilization
Italian investigators have informed DailyMail.com about findings indicating that not only are the subterranean shafts and chambers discovered beneath the Khafre pyramid approximately 38,000 years old, but this age also extends to the entire Giza plateau structures. This assertion dramatically predates the widely accepted timeframe of 4,500 years for the construction of the Giza pyramid complex, which includes the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure.
The research team posits that a now-vanished, sophisticated civilization erected the Giza complex. They theorize this advanced society was decimated around 12,000 years ago by a catastrophic ‘divine flood,’ purportedly triggered by an asteroid impact. According to this theory, only the pyramids remained as colossal monuments of this lost epoch.
Alleged Evidence: Water Erosion and Salt Accumulation
Researcher Mei, after recently visiting the Giza site, highlighted physical evidence supporting their claims. “Certain stone blocks close to the Great Pyramid’s entrance exhibit unmistakable traces of water erosion,” Mei stated, pointing to specific weathering patterns.
“The selective erosion affecting only particular stones suggests that sections of the pyramid were submerged underwater in antiquity,” he elaborated.
Mei further emphasized the significant salt deposits discovered within the Great Pyramid as further substantiation. He interprets these salt encrustations as evidence that ocean waters inundated the Giza Plateau in the distant past.
Counterarguments: Traditional Explanations vs. New Claims
However, Dr. Zahi Hawass, the former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, has consistently refuted such interpretations. Dr. Hawass contends that the features perceived as water erosion at the pyramid base are attributable to natural weathering processes. He also argues that the salt deposits are naturally occurring, originating from the limestone materials of the pyramids themselves.
Underground Exploration and Radar Technology
Mei and his colleagues, including Corrado Malanga from the University of Pisa and Filippo Biondi from the University of Strathclyde, initially gained attention for their discovery of shafts and chambers situated over 2,000 feet beneath the Giza surface. Their investigation also indicated potential chamber-like formations at depths exceeding 4,000 feet, leading them to speculate about a long-lost subterranean city.
These discoveries were made possible through advanced acoustic data collection techniques from deep within the ground. These methods included analyzing seismic waves, ambient noise, and photon interactions to map the newly identified shafts and chambers extending far beneath the surface.
Biondi explained their use of radar technology, specifically analyzing Doppler centroid abnormalities – frequency shifts and distortions crucial for detecting subsurface structures.
Conversely, Dr. Hawass has disputed the team’s methodology. Speaking to The National, he stated, “The assertion of using radar inside the pyramid is erroneous, and the employed techniques lack both scientific approval and validation.”
Dating the Pyramids: Younger Dryas Theory and Timeline Discrepancies
This latest proposition from the Italian researchers asserts that the Giza pyramids predate even the Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, currently recognized as the oldest known man-made monumental structure, by tens of millennia. This dating is based on the Younger Dryas impact theory, a hypothesis from the early 2000s which suggests a significant cosmic event around 12,900 years ago. This theory, however, remains largely unaccepted within the mainstream scientific community.
Mei acknowledged the scientific skepticism towards a global impact event. “Scientists maintain there is no evidence of an impact on Earth,” Mei stated. “However, the Earth is predominantly ocean. It is plausible that an impact occurred in the ocean, leading to a massive flood that obliterated a preceding civilization inhabiting Earth.”
He further argued for the existence of a prior civilization by pointing to global similarities. “Numerous signs around the globe hint at a preceding civilization, such as comparable monuments in South America, China, and even Norfolk Island.”
“Beyond monuments, even global myths share remarkable similarities across South America, Europe, Africa, and the South Pacific. Legends exhibiting common themes resonate around the world,” Mei added.
The ‘Megastructure’ Concept and Salt Evidence Revisited
Biondi elaborated that, according to their theory, a pre-existing civilization in Egypt initially constructed the subterranean city, followed by the shafts, and finally erected the pyramids above, thereby creating a comprehensive ‘megastructure.’
The team reiterates that the salt accumulations inside the Great Pyramid originated from ocean water penetrating the structure.
Historical accounts corroborate the presence of salt within the pyramids. In 1837, Colonel Howard Vyse, exploring the King’s Chamber, documented thick salt layers on the limestone roof stones above the chamber, describing them as crystalline sodium chloride deposits forming flower-like patterns.
W.M. Flinders Petrie’s surveys in the 1880s also revealed substantial salt encrustations, up to half an inch thick, on the limestone walls of the Queen’s Chamber and the Horizontal Passage. Petrie, however, did not report similar salt findings within the King’s Chamber as documented by Vyse.
“The underground tunnels of Giza exhibit identical salt presence on their walls,” Mei asserted. “This signifies a significant event in the ancient past that demands further investigation.”
Ancient Texts and the Quest for the ‘City of the Dead’
Beyond physical evidence, the team cites ancient Egyptian texts as supporting their claims of a lost city. Mei explained their theory’s foundation in ancient Egyptian texts, specifically referencing Chapter 149 of the Book of the Dead, which mentions the 14 residences of the ‘city of the dead.’
“It describes specific chambers and inhabitants of this city. This aligns with our belief that it could be Amenti, described in ancient texts,” he elaborated. “While certainty is needed, the pyramids’ location precisely matches the textual descriptions.”
“The texts indicate the pyramids were erected atop the city, effectively sealing its entrance,” Mei emphasized.
Biondi further proposed a link between the unidentified chambers located over 4,000 feet below the pyramids and the mythical Hall of Records.
The Hall of Records, a persistent myth in Egyptian tradition, is believed to be a concealed chamber beneath the Great Pyramid or Sphinx, purportedly containing vast stores of ancient wisdom about lost civilizations. However, concrete evidence for its existence remains absent.
Expert Skepticism and the Archaeological Perspective
Professor Lawrence Conyers, a radar expert specializing in archaeology at the University of Denver, unaffiliated with this study, dismissed the claims of 38,000-year-old pyramids and structures as “outlandish.”
Professor Conyers stated that human societies 38,000 years ago “primarily resided in caves.”
“Urban settlements as we recognize them today did not emerge until approximately 9,000 years ago,” he added. “While some larger villages predated this, their origins only extend back a few millennia from that point.”
Challenging Conventional Construction Methods
However, Mei countered: “The idea that a civilization limited to rudimentary implements—like wooden mallets and copper chisels, seemingly inadequate for such colossal undertakings in hard stone—could achieve this level of architectural sophistication requires a more compelling and scientifically grounded explanation than the oft-cited, and frankly unconvincing, theory of water-soaked wooden wedges.”
“The archaeological community should more earnestly address these fundamental questions, perhaps by first acquiring a more practical understanding of the actual methods required to extract massive granite blocks from quarries, before formulating hypotheses that lack technical and scientific validity,” Mei concluded.