One of history's greatest civilizations thrived for almost 3,000 years along the winding Nile
River in northeast Africa.
However, once Egypt was conquered by the Greeks, then the Romans, and eventually the Muslims,
the ancient civilization's glory was buried underneath layers of these many civilizations,
only to resurface centuries later as archaeologists and historians embraced the study known as
Egyptology.
Although ancient Egypt is long gone, researchers continue to unearth its wonders.
What have archaeologists discovered this time around?
What makes it so terrifying?
Join us today as we bring you a frightening new discovery in Egypt by scientists that
will change everything!
The secret chamber in the Pyramid of Giza is one of the mysteries that has puzzled researchers
for decades.
If you were to rent an apartment and discover a hidden room inside another, you may wonder
what it was used for, too.
The Pharaohs of ancient Egypt were seen as intermediaries between humans and the gods;
as such, they were honored with the building of some of the world's most impressive man-made
structures, including the iconic pyramids.
In fact, the pyramids had such close ties to the kings that the smooth, angled sides
were meant to aid the king's soul in ascending to heaven and joining the gods, particularly
the Sun God Ra.
So, why exactly did they build those pyramids?
The ancient Egyptians believed that the king's spirit, known as Ka, remained in his body
after death.
In order to properly care for the king's spirit, his body was mummified and he was buried with
all the trappings of royalty, including gold utensils, food, furniture, and other tributes.
Despite pyramids being constructed from the start of the Old Kingdom to the end of the
Ptolemaic period in the 4th century A.D., the zenith of pyramid construction occurred
in the late 3rd Dynasty and lasted until around the 6th Dynasty, circa 2325 BC.
The Giza Pyramid is one of the most well-known pyramids.
There are three primary chambers that we know about in the Giza Pyramid: the king's chamber,
the queen's chamber, and an underground chamber that seems incomplete.
It is thought to be the tomb of one of the early pharaohs of Egypt, King Khufu.
There is also the Grand Gallery, a 40.27-meter-long corridor that leads to the king's chamber.
Scientists set out to investigate the inside structure of a pyramid to determine whether
there were any previously unknown chambers, caverns, tunnels, passageways, or other structures.
They employed a technique called as Cosmic Muography, and what they discovered created
more concerns than answers, including certain sections that should have been solid rocks
that were noticeably empty.
They uncovered a large hole estimated to be between 30 and 40 meters long.
What confused the experts was the purpose of this secret room, which is clearly built
in a special location.
There have been rumors that it holds another tomb or perhaps gold.
One of the reasons archaeologists were intrigued was because the Giza Pyramid is essentially
empty of items that people were commonly buried with.
This may have been due to the acts of tomb robbers, but they couldn't touch the enormous
void, so whatever it originally held must remain intact.
Now can you picture whales splashing on the sweeping sand dunes when you think of the
Sahara Desert?
Even though it's extremely unlikely because whales can't live anywhere than the ocean.
There is, however, proof that the modern whale's ancestors swam freely in the hot African desert.
In 1902, a group of geologists led their camels into a region in the Western Desert of Egypt.
Sandstone boulders were shaped into odd forms where the wind was very strong, and the area
would gleam like gold in the moonlight at night.
There is a neighboring hill called "the mountain of hell" due to its scorching summer temperatures,
but if someone told you there were whale skeletons in this dry valley, you would not believe
them.
The vertebrae of the longer skeletons were as thick as logs used for campfires, and the
skeletons themselves were 50 feet long.
They dated back 37 million years to a time when this area and all of Northern Egypt were
covered by a shallow tropical sea.
Although the geologists weren't aware of it at the time, the prehistoric specimen would
provide answers to one of Evolution's most vexing questions: how whales became whales.
The presence of feet in these long-dead whales was one piece of information.
Researchers had assumed whales were once land creatures that had adapted to life in the
sea over many millions of years by gradually losing their hind legs.
For example, modern whales retain certain bones from their ancestral hind legs (vestigial
hind legs), but this transition was poorly represented in the fossil record until paleontologists
unearthed hundreds of whale fossils buried in Wadi Hitan, where they discovered bones
such as legs and knees.
Although older specimens of footed whales have been identified, Wadi Hitan's are unrivalled
in terms of their number and quality of preservation.
The valley, which is roughly a three-hour drive from Cairo, is now a UNESCO world heritage
site that attracts over 14 000 visitors each year.
Paleontologists believe the whale's predecessors were deer or pig-like scavengers who lived
near the water.
They began spending more time in the water some 55 million years ago, first eating dead
fish near the shore and then chasing food in the shallows and then wading deeper as
they did some of them gained features that helped hunting in water.
They grew in size as they no longer had to bear their entire body weight at sea, their
backbones elongating and their rib cages expanding.
The majority of the fossils in the valley belonged to one of two groups.
The relatively diminutive but strongly muscled Basilosaurus was the gigantic with an almost
ear-like body.
Dorudon resembled a modern whale until its mouth opened, revealing a jaw laced with serrated
knives.
However, it is not the end of the Mysteries that have been uncovered by Egyptologists,
and what comes next is not for the weak of heart.
What about some macabre mummy juice to wash it all down?
It all began when builders in the ancient port city of the Mediterranean discovered
a black granite tomb 16 feet beneath while constructing an apartment complex.
As soon as word got out that the tomb was almost 2,000 years old, it became a viral
sensation.
The ghastly photos of the three skeletons bobbing in the mucky soup sparked urban legends
that the mummy juice had healing or supernatural capabilities, with residents hoping to make
a fast buck by bottling and selling the substance.
Others were concerned that the unusual color indicated the presence of a toxic substance
like mercury.
Despite concerns that breaking up the massive black granite sarcophagus might set off an
ancient curse, it was unearthed and opened.
Furthermore, it was believed by some to hold the remains of Alexander the Great, the city's
founder; however, this theory was swiftly dispelled by Dr. Moustafa Waziri, General
Secretary of the Supreme Council at Antiquities.
He argued instead that the tomb belonged to a priest.
However, the discovery of probable Arrow damage to one of the skulls indicates that the bones
most likely belong to military leaders, according to an Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities statement.
So, what exactly was this mummy juice, and did it have Supernatural implications?
Unfortunately, no!
Authorities discovered the liquid was not mummy juice containing an elixir of life or
red mercury, but something far more mundane and less enticing, sewage water!
Waziri said, “the skeletons had partially disintegrated because switch water from a
nearby building had leaked into the sarcophagus through a small crack in one side.”
What about the curses associated with the opening of antique coffins?
Waziri stated he was the first to put his head inside the sarcophagus and evidently
nothing occurred to him, so either they were simply rumors or this particular coffin had
no curses to deliver.
Archaeologists have reported what may be the biggest find of the century: the location
of ancient Egypt's Lost Labyrinth.
Do you enjoy mysteries?
Egypt is undoubtedly a land of secrets.
If there is one place on Earth that is ripe with secrets, it is Egypt.
Some of them have been there for thousands of years, yet we still haven't figured them
out.
Nonetheless, the Labyrinth of Hawara may have provided the answer to one of these Mysteries
at long last.
Below the sands of a well-known pyramid site, archaeologists discovered what they believe
to be the remnants of the legendary Labyrinth.
During the 5th century BC, legendary historian Herodotus claimed to have counted 3 000 chambers
inside this virtually mystical building that also served as a burial complex.
He and other authors, such as Strabo, had the opportunity to tour the labyrinth when
it was at its prime.
The labyrinth is said to be an incredible underground structure that may hold the secret
to the history of mankind.
It is rumored that there, we might unearth evidence of ancient civilizations, empires,
and kings who ruled the world before history as we know it began.
According to Herodotus, the Labyrinth was located somewhat above the Lake of Moeris
and approximately opposite the City of Crocodiles.
Before we get into what scientists discovered in Hawara, take Herodotus' description of
the breathtakingly enigmatic Labyrinth: “This I've actually seen a work Beyond words.
For if anyone put together the buildings of the Greeks and displayed of their labors,
they would seem lesser in both effort and expense to this Labyrinth.
Even the pyramids are beyond words and each was equal to many and mighty works of the
Greeks, yet the Labyrinth surpasses even the pyramids.”
Despite being buried for millennia, scholars have pieced together a description of the
Labyrinth based on writings from history.
They have determined that the complex consisted of 12 interconnected courts, six on the north
side and six on the south, all of which were connected by gates.
There was a wall around the entire complex, and within it were two types of chambers:
those below ground and those above.
There was also a massive stone roof, constructed from the same materials as the walls, which
were also covered with figures.
Each Court was enclosed by white stone pillars that were skillfully joined together, and
at the center of the maze, a massive pyramid with carved human figures stood guard.
The mysterious underground complex could now be found around 100 kilometers from Cairo
in Hawara.
It was visited by a group of Belgian experts who explored the site using ground penetrating
technology.
They were able to corroborate the presence of the subterranean Temple near Amenemhat
III's Pyramid.
While some may question that the Lost Labyrinth has finally been discovered, the expedition's
findings conclusively demonstrated the presence of grid-like and organized structures deep
beneath the sand at levels considerably deeper than previously explored.
Let us know what you think of the Lost Labyrinth of Ancient Egypt in the comments section below.